Long Final,
Hope you made it to Weston. It is a great little airfield, which serves Dublin well.
I planned a trip over to Dublin at the end of last summer, except I was flying into Dublin Int. instead of Weston. I made all the necessary arrangements with the handling agents, got a slot, filed a flight plan and was ready to go. However, I thought that I'd just give the handling agents a quick call prior to departure to make sure that everything was OK. Thank christ I did. They turned round and said that the airport was full to the brim with private jets and commercial flights that were there for the Cream Fields festival, which is what I was going for. No doubt the reason for giving priority to private jets was the huge revenue they would gain. Bollox! After going effin ballistic with Dublin I gave Weston a call. Bearing in mind that it is now about 6pm and Weston was closing. Out of the goodness of their hearts they stayed on for 2 hours (on a Friday night!) with all the required fire crew, etc. just so that my weekend wasn't spoilt.
What would have happened if I hadn't called Dublin? They said that they physically didn't have the room to park any other GA aircraft and if I had turned up they would have made me refuel and sent me back to the UK. At that time Weston would have been shut with no other option but N.I. or the West Coast.
So in short, avoid the handling agents at Dublin Int. Don't know their arse from their elbow! Although, ATC were superb and brought me in via Clontarf, straight down the Liffey over Dublin and then sent me out via Killeiney (spelin probabley rong) on my return.
For anyone who hasn't yet deposited any rubber on Irish tarmac, I can honestly say that it will be one of the best entries you'll ever make in your logbook!
Barnanby