Question regarding staying outside Dublin city center

I loved the city and would recommend staying within, but if you google this question, you will get some ideas. Totally doable, and reportedly there are some pleasant places about 30 minutes on train.

You could stay in the Ballsbridge area, about a 2 mile walk to, for example, Trinity College. Also easily accessible to the City Center via bus or train. Howth is also an idea, although further out on the train line.

The train being referred to is the DART. Suggest superimposing a layout of the system over a city map to see what neighborhoods might appeal to you. The seaside suburb of Howth is quite nice. So is the Ballsbridge area which is a 30 minute level walk to St. Stephen's Green - it's where we stay on our own visits to Dublin in order to stay clear of the noise and congestion around Trinity and Temple Bar.
Never used the buses but am sure that a Google search will help sort things out for you.
As I recall taxis were pretty cheap too, for excursions out to Phoenix Park and Kilmainham.

While staying in the city center would certainly be convenient and enjoyable - and I certainly wouldn’t discourage you doing so - if you would rather be away from the hustle and bustle of the city, I would suggest something south of city center, along the coast. And easy commute into the heart of the city by DART. A particular suggestion would be Dun Laghoaire. Right on the coast, with wonderful views of the Irish Sea. Plenty of restaurants and pubs, from the simple to the elegant. A tad further out, another delightful village (my favorite) is Dalkey. By DART, it’s about 5 minutes below Dun Laoghaire. If you are in Dalkey, be sure to have a pint at Finnegan’s. My favorite in all the Dublin area. Maeve Benchley frequented it, by the way. She lived in Dalkey.

DART runs frequently and is inexpensive. Takes you right into the city center in 15-20 minutes. Naturally the buses run through Dun Laoghaire also, to various parts of the city.

P.S. Dun Laoghaire is pronounced “dun leery”

Donnybrook is lovely and wonderfully locates tk get to city center as well as many coastal towns

Thanks for the suggestions decided to stay in Dun Laghoaire.

You will enjoy Dun Laoghaire. As I noted before, an easy commute into city center via DART. While in Dun Laoghaire, be sure to enjoy two local favorites. First, Teddy’s Ice Cream. There is a shop along the waterfront, south of the harbor, and a truck in various spots. A long-time favorite amongst the locals. And second, The Fish Shack. While there is a restaurant near the waterfront, a favorite for locals in the nice weather is their mobile shop on the walk out along the breakwater. Locals love to pick up a meal and sit on the walls of the breakwater and absorb the scenery and atmosphere. Great fish-and-chips.

Likewise I'm headed to Dublin for several days early June. Any suggestions for towns north of the city and closer to the airport?
Cheers

For north of downtown Dublin and near the airport, the town is Swords.

We wound up renting an apartment downtown, but had considered both Swords and Dun Laoghaire (pronounced “dunn leery”).

@ikftravels{ if it has to be north of the city the seaside suburb of Howth is one suggestion - it's quite pretty, uncrowded, and you can take the DART from there into Dublin city center - about 45 minutes.
You'd have to catch a taxi to get to or from the airport from Howth - about 30 minutes each way which, as it happens, is about the same amount of time it takes to go from the center of Dublin to the airport.

If Howth is too far afield for your purposes I'd suggest looking at a map of the DART system and researching alternatives. In general, congestion decreases and prices for accommodation go down once you go north of the river Liffey. Haven't used the bus system but that might be worth researching too, and as long as you're not too far outside the city center a taxi might be a reasonably cost-effective alternative.
And in the FWIW department, we usually stay a little south of the center in the Ballbridge area - about a 15 minute level walk to St Stephens Green.

Drumcondra has many hotels and B&Bs. You can easily take the same bus from the airport to Drumcondra and the same bus into the city center.