Reliable sources indicate that the bilateral contains a loophole which allows an Irish Airline to operate from any Irish Airport to the US.
The wording appeared on PPrune earlier this year. If 1 in 4 applies to SNN v Dublin then US airlines could in theory start services to ORK OR NOC once open skies comes into effect.
The main runway at Cork is just 7,000 and is sloping at both ends. Some years ago the EI 734'S required a technical stop enroute to LPA and TFS if 35 was active and they had a full load. In 2002 a 767 op direct to the Dominican Republic had to restrict the outbound load.
What odds that the runway lenght will become an issue if serious negotiations ever get underway.
RTE news stated this morning that agreement has been reached and that the talks have been concluded.