With the ongoing improvements to the M8, the attraction of going to Dublin by Plane is dwindling rapidly.
I drove to Dublin last week. I left Merrion Square at 19:10, and was in Glanmire at 21:35. I had the flexibility of my car while I was in Dublin, and avoided the hassle of check ins, taxis, parking charges at Cork while I was away, and it was also considerably cheaper. I could listen to what I wanted on my radio, I could make and receive calls, I could even stop for a sandwich or a coffee if I wanted. If I had left Merrion Square at 19:10 and got a cab to the airport in Dublin, I would probably have arrived back in Cork Airport at 21:40 and deplaned by about 21:55. I would then have had to get my car from the car park and make my way through the traffic to Glanmire, and would have probably got there at about 22:10. Which is 35 minutes later than I did by car.
From June/July of this year (even though the opening is scheduled for October) the M8 will be completed. Airlines and Iarnrod Eireann will be hammered on their Cork Dublin routes once this happens.