Toronto

I can't comment on connecting. But from where I live in the US (right on the US-Canadian border), it's my airport of choice for flying to Europe. Particularly if you have a NEXUS card.

What is a. Nexus card?
Thanks

It's an ID that lets you go through an expedited line on the US borders with Canado and Mexico. Canadian airports also have a special line for NEXUS pass holders, and it makes the process much more streamline than going through TSA and Customs and Immigration in the US.

I'm in Canada just about every weekend, and it makes my border crossing extremely quick- the regular line on the bridges can be almost an hour long at really busy times of the day. If you don't make regular trips to Canada or Mexico, however, it probably isn't worth the effort to get one.

Toronto is my home airport. It is a pretty big and busy airport with 2 main terminals. Are you changing airlines? If so, you may have to change terminals which is actually pretty easy as they have a train linking the terminals.

Both terminals ate pretty new/renovated so the amenities are pretty nice.....

Let me know if you have any specific questions

Thanks for all of the help. It sounds like Toronto is the way to go. Our other option was Heathrow and we heard on this forum that it was a nightmare. It appears almost every Air Lingus stop is in Heathrow unless you go non stop and we aren't willing to pay $300 more per ticket just to go non stop. Toronto has a 3 hour layover so we figured that was plenty of time to get through customs and get to,the right gate.
So thanks again.

Have you looked at options for Vancouver? I understand the desire to avoid Heathrow, it is not a good experience. When I flew to Scotland I went via Amsterdam just to avoid Heathrow. I believe KLM, Lufthansa and some others go direct from Dublin to Vancouver.

Transit passengers in Toronto used to have to go through passport control and customs (maybe even claiming and rechecking bags). I vaguely remember that this was changed a while back. Maybe someone who's done that route lately can confirm what the current procedures are. That could be a problem.

Chani
Thanks for the heads up. We have a three hour layover there and we won't have any checked bags so hopefully we will be ok. We gave us plenty of time to deal with customs if we need it.

Then Toronto sounds good. I hate going through Heathrow - long lines for security, long distances between and even within terminals.

Thanks for all the replys. If you are a frequent traveler you probably have your favorite airports. As a traveler that has basically hardly ever traveled, we went with the recomendations of others and we also went with connections that had a good layover so that we could manage what ever came up.
This forum has been a great help as well as The Rick Steves 2016 Ireland travel book.
This is our second trip to Ireland so our next goal is to not go just as a tourist but to learn to travel as a pilgrim.

I know that you mentioned the $300 price difference for nonstop flights and that you didn't want to pay it, but, for me, having tried to save a bit of money this way in my earlier years when traveling, I've decided that the added cost for a nonstop is often worth it. You're talking about a minimum 3 hour layover, getting off and getting on another plane, an extra take off and landing, plus all the taxiing etc. Nonstop is 10 hours and you're done. I'm miserable on a plane and I've learned that, for me, it's worth the money to cut 5 or 6 hours off my travel time.

Pearson International Airport is the name of airport in Toronto. I would not recommend to rent a car and go to the city in your short layover (3 hours) especially if you don't know the city. You could get easily stuck in traffic and miss your plane. If you would have substantially longer layover and want to see the city, take a taxi. Cheaper and safer. I don't like to connect in Heathrow either but I would do it rather than fly many more hours with connection via Toronto. If you fly via Toronto you will go through US immigration and customs in Toronto and then when you land in CA it will be like getting from domestic flight. No more controls.