Yes I agree it was lousy decisionmaking, minima busting, etc. They should have diverted right away.
But I don't accept that a crew flying by hand is - for any given level of competence - going to be as fresh as one assisted by an AP.
Aviation is full of cases where people do apparently stupid things. I bet most of them would not have made them in an armchair. Perhaps not even AF447?
And even if these crazy pilots did proceed with the approach (as they did) to Cork, if they had an AP which actually works they could have flown with it, tracking the LOC/GS down to about 50ft. Stupid and illegal yes, but it would have worked out fine.
It is not a matter of whether I hold people who fly for a living in regard or not. Actually I do very much and have always enjoyed flying with such pilots because I can usually learn something from them. What I don't like is (some) people being pompous about it.