The problem with any of the light strike type solutions is that Ireland has two different requirements from a fighter.
One is for overland/East Coast QRA which occasionally has to CAP a major event. A FA50 style machine could do this reasonably well.
The second requirement is for a West Coast/over the Atlantic QRA. Here you’re talking about a different beast altogether as an air policing fighter will be required to get airborne, travel to intercept ( for example) a Tu 142 and squawk beside it for a while until it does whatever it is they do over the Porcupine Banks and goes away. In terms of a Cold War analogy, you need a Lightning on the east coast and a Mig 31 on the West.
Obviously, finances will dictate a one type fleet. They’ll also dictate what an acceptable cost per hour will look like, so a compromise will almost certainly keep leading you back to a Gripen. Now start talking about a tanker, primary radar, maybe an Erieye or two...
In any case, the big shark to jump isn’t ‘Ireland buys a fighter’ , it’s trying to retain the pilots and techs that are there now. Even in the current market, a failure to maintain crew levels will scupper the best plans for the future.