'Long weekend' in Dublin - worth it?

That would really only give you two full days on the ground. I'm not sure that's enough time to even recover from jet lag. If you are really cash strapped there are ways to make the trip cheaper so you could spend more time. Staying in a hostel would be quite cheap, there are several in Dublin, and these days some of them even have private rooms. if not a hostel then a B&B that would feed you a big breakfast so you might be able to skip lunch. Take a lunch kit with you and shop in local super markets instead of eating out. Buy a pass that will get you into several sights in the city instead of paying for each one. Look for the places that are free to visit, and ones you can get to by public transit. If you could extend your time to a week by cutting back in several different ways then I would say go, but I don't think I would be going for just a couple of days.

Cheryl,

i think the suggestions above are great as far as saving money. And depending on how you handle jet lag you COULD make a long weekend worth it. My husband and I did a RS tour last year. We flew into Dublin a few days before to get turned around. We left the East coast on a Thursday evening and landed in Dublin about 730 am their time. We did sleep a few hours on the plane. Once we got to Dublin we dropped our bags at the hotel and took a bus into town. i find it best to stay up once we get to our destination. We did the Guinness storehouse, St Patrick's and Christ Church as well as a lot of just walking around outside to get our biological clocks turned around. To me, if I have spent the money on a flight I would really try to go and pack as much in as possible!

Could you possibly leave Thursday night and come back on Tuesday? That way you'd have three full days in Dublin. You won't get to Dublin until Saturday late morning and I find the first day rather tiring as it's hard to adjust to time change and jet lag.

If you really cannot add time to your trip, I would say not worth it . By the time you get to your hotel, it will be at least lunch time. Day 1 is a blur with jet lag. That really leaves you Sunday on the ground, full day. The shortest Ireland trip I took was flying out on a Thursday night and back on Tuesday.

If this is a "use it or lose it " situation I'd say why not?
Departing Friday night from the east coast should get you into Dublin around 6 AM, probably a bit sleep deprived. Since you'll be running on adrenaline at that point you could drop your bags at your hotel and set off on foot to see the sights. If you think you'll really need a nap at that point you could book the room for the night before and have it ready on arrival. Then, after a shower and a couple of hours of sleep you can start refreshed to tackle the day.
With two full days (more or less) at your disposal you'll be able to see most of the city and its various attractions and still have time in the evenings to explore some of the world class pubs.
It'll be a slog in the mornings when your body is telling you that it's 3 or 4 AM, but by noon your body clock will recognize that it's daylight again so you should be fine, although only you know how severely jet lag will affect you.
The prescription sleep aid Ambien has always been a lifesaver for us - both on the flight to ensure at least a few hours sleep going and coming and in helping us get to sleep once we've arrived, when the local time says it's midnight but our body clock protests that it's only 7 PM. Do consult with your doctor before trying it, and by all means give it a test drive before you leave to ensure that you aren't one of the 1% of people who have an adverse reaction (or no reaction) to it.

Can you increase your time using Thanksgiving or Christmas breaks?

Can't you add at least another day? That would be better. I have done something similar direct from Chicago to Berlin because I wanted to go to a high reputed live international conference and festival where my jetsetting friends were at. That was a lot of fun for 3 days and I would do it again.

Have you ever been to Dublin before? I say life is short and go for it! I’d rather have a long weekend on a fun trip than nothing at all. We have only had a few trips abroad, but they have always been for at least 2 weeks. But if I ever had the chance to go for a long weekend, I sure would! Keep us posted on your big decision!

I'd look to try to stretch it by 1 day if at all possible. If you just don't have the vacation time banked, and you aren't subject to blackout dates, maybe you can stretch it if your company gives you off any holiday weekend - like Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, President's Day or MLK Day.

There's definitely ways to stretch your funds - look at something like Couchsurfing.com to see if you can find a free place to stay, check into convent and monastery lodging (very basic rooms, but clean and many include breakfast), consider hostel dorm rooms. You can eat cheaply - if your lodging includes a full Irish breakfast, then take advantage of it and you can skip lunch on a breakfast that big. Otherwise, eating a bigger meal at lunch and a small dinner is cheaper. Consider things like daily specials in a pub, or get takeaway from places like Marks & Spencer's or fast food places.

And if you absolutely can only spend 2 days there, then just rally and push through. I've done a few of these from the East Coast to various points in Europe and sometimes just a quick 1 to 2 hour nap before dinner makes me perk right up so I can go have a late dinner and then hit some pubs or bars for a few hours.

Sounds as thought the flight has already been paid for at some earlier time. If it’s either fly or lose the money spent on the ticket, by all means, go. Try and sleep on the plane and upon arrival, get out and enjoy yourself. In my opinion, the amount of time you’ll have in Dublin is about all you really need to get a good feel for the city. You can sleep on the flight home.

Not being familiar with the details of your reservation and what airline you have these tickets on I can only share my experience with not being able to travel for various reasons on a ticket that I have already paid for.
However, in general airlines based in the US will charge a change fee between $100-200 which will allow you not only to change the dates but also to add some days to that reservation. And in addition, this will restart the clock on how much time you have to use this reservation.
If you made the reservation on an airline that is based in Europe, and booked with the airlines directly, British Airways, TAP, Norwegian, etc. the change fee is much less, between 20 and 45 euros in my experience.
So to sum up...for a fee you may be able to take your trip at a later time WITH additional days.
And AirBnB which I use a lot, has many places with free cancellation up to 24 hours before...make sure you read each property's policy to make sure.

Yesterday I saw a friend who had just spend the weekend in Paris. It's about a 5-hour flight from here, even though there's only a one-hour time difference. She arrived in Paris about noon on Friday and left for the airport around 9 pm on Saturday and had an absolutely wonderful time. She only got half a night's sleep Thursday and slept most of the way on the flight home and went to work for 1/2 day. She was exhausted but exhilarated.

So I say GO FOR IT. Dublin isn't expensive and it's lots of fun. There are two good theatres, two beautiful cathedrals, a super (free) National Archaeology Museum, several other interesting museums and pubs that are warm and cosy and very friendly.

I do this often. Coming from Canada, we do not get piles of vacation time.

I did 3 days in Brussels earlier this year and dm doing 2 days in Iceland coming up.

I find it easiest to hit the ground running. Dump your bag and go. There is lots to do in Dublin. Why throwaway money already spent?

Life is too short. Go, enjoy yourself and make some memories.

Go for it! You can sleep when you get back home after the fun trip!! Dublin is easy to walk around and if you arrive at 6 a.m., you will have plenty of time to pack in full days of sight seeing and fun nights at pubs listening to music.