Apologies if I am less than knowledgeable on this, but what's stopping AF from stepping on this, or even the Irish Govt subtly encouraging AF to make a bid ? Not the best option purely on 'Irishness', but to ensure long term competition in Irish aviation I can't think of a better solution.
ryanair own 29.82% of EI already which makes it very unattractive to any other prospective buyer.