Agreed Pistonprop,
With regard to the UK the whole subject of testing either prior to travel or after travel is an absolute minefield....as a general point you often need to examine multiple websites, and they often offer conflicting advice..and then the operator sometimes throws in their twopence worth as well....
Anyhow...back to the OP..
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...y-requirements
If you are arriving into Ireland from overseas or are transiting through an Irish port or airport you must have a negative/‘not detected’ result from a pre-departure Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) COVID-19 test carried out no more than 72 hours prior to your arrival in Ireland. Antigen or other test types do not meet the requirements. See the list of private providers of COVID-19 testing in the UK for the purposes of international travel.
Where I am (France) if I need to test for travel I can rock up at a (private) lab and get a test done
for free..OTOH it can sometimes appear that the authorities in some countries
have made a lot effort to ensure that a significant amount of testing has to be paid for ....and of course if you grumble at some point you'll run into those who think all travel is for leisure purposes and in any event will claim that if you can afford to fly, you can afford to pay for the tests.....
I really do understand that NHS resources are spread thin but so are healthcare resources in many countries. Being a cynic I also wonder if that certain interest groups will be lobbying to keep testing in place even when (hopefully) the threat from Covid has declined to being a minor nuisance.