Hi all- I arrive in Dublin early on a Monday morning and don't have to meet my group till after lunch. I don't really want to hang around the airport. Any suggestions on how I could kill a few hours? I don't need to squeeze in the big attractions; I'll be there for 5 days.
I'm assuming you will be somewhat tired when you arrive. Why not make your way to downtown and get a pass on one of the hop-on hop-off buses. (There's a red bus and a green one. We just got back from Ireland and we used the green.) The buses follow basically the same route and will take you all around Dublin with stops near the major attractions. The driver's narrative throughout is interesting and witty. No need to get off the bus. You could just ride the entire circuit and get a good orientaion to the city and some ideas of what you'd like to see later. Have fun!!
You could head over to Grafton Street, do some shopping, and relax on St. Stephen's Green until you have to meet your group. There's also lots of shopping off of O'Connell Street on the other side of the Liffey. Keep in mind that it will take a while to get through immigration and get into town. I'd figure on at least 1 1/2 hours for that.
Thank you for your help! Good suggestions.