I don't understand MOL's obsession with EI, but perhaps there is something driving it that I'm unaware of. I would have thought he'd be better employed doing what he and FR have been incredibly successful at - low cost flying.
However I do think if FR could have squashed EI on competition/price terms they would have done it long ago. The fact remains that EI have survived despite sharing a homebase with FR and flying to a substantial number of similar destinations. There remains an adequate number of Irish originating passengers who will choose EI over FR, for a myriad of reasons such as just pure snob value, a perceived difference in quality of service, connection hubs etc.