I wish I could offer more encouragement than "It's most likely going to be fine".
I would say though, it's worst planning for long delays at check-in and security, plus passport control on arrival. That's because the school holidays will have started, and that's very much 'peak season'.
If taking the bus into central Dublin, the stop is literally just outside the arrivals terminal, to your left. Taxi fare isn't too expensive though and they're also right outside the terminal, just to the left, with usually someone (legitimately) checking in the line where you're headed when you join the queue.
On the way back, rush hour traffic can get bad, so if returning to the airport in rush hour, allow extra time.
Ryanair are indeed rubbish, but there are tricks to make it a little less stressful:
- At London Stansted rather than waiting in the main hall, we used to head out of the main hall to the right, along the walkways to the main large add-on departure hall, and at the very start of it there is a manned desk. You can ask there where your flight is due to depart from and they'd always let us know which gate is was expected to depart from. That allowed us to be at the front of the queue (even sometimes with the benefit of staying sat down!), which makes boarding less hassle. There is a small risk you'll be in the other smaller / older add-on, but the cost of this is merely having a longer walk to retrace steps.
- Headphones, especially noise cancelling ones, can cut out the adverts for lottery tickets and whatever the latest annoying marketing wheeze they have.
- Take water / snacks with you if you want them rather than buy Ryanair's stuff. I'd also recommend the freshly squeezed fruit juice at the entrance to that add-on wing of the airport.
- Brace for impact. For some reason, Ryanair pilots have a tendency of slamming the plane onto the tarmac, so heavy landings are quite normal.
- Stansted airport now forces you to walk through the airport shops, so head down and plough through them.
Maskless? Yes it seems the norm here now, more so the bigger the city
I hope it all goes well, and I'll close with some personal favourites from Dublin:
- A brilliant top-end 'supermarket' Fallon & Byrne on Wicklow st, with lots of lovely foods, plus a good cool downstairs wine bar. There was also a decent ice-cream place just up the same road
- Georges St Arcade just around the corner from Fallon & Byrne is a nice place to browse crafts and stuff.
- oldest pub in Dublin, The Brazen Head 20 Lower Bridge St, Usher's Quay. Head over on a Sunday lunchtime / afternoon for a singalong to traditional music. It may be tourist focused, but it's not sold its soul, and the musicians are very much local (unlike much in the Temple Bar area)
- The one highlight of the temple bar area. The Elephant and Castle, and solely for the chicken wings in vinegar, which are very tasty indeed. It may take a while to get a seat, but they're happy to take a phone number and message you when ready, whilst you grab a drink across the road.
- Early evening specials for dining. These seemed very commonplace, offering a very good discount for eating before ~ 7pm
- St Stephens green is ok to briefly break the feel of being in a city, but walking along the river/canal can also help
- Neon Street food on Camden St is a communal table place with great value, tasty thai food, with a help yourself Mr Whippy ice-cream for dessert. Grab seats when they come free, then order at the counter. Nice if you like a vibrant / good value place, but less so if looking for something more chilled... in which case the nearby....
- Camden Kitchen 3A Grantham St (just off Camden street) is a cosy bistro which I think was French/Spanish styled (perhaps Pyrenean? It became a personal favourite, as although the menu was quite small, there was always something I wanted.
- If you like beer and want a change from just the black stuff, Against the Grain 11 Wexford St, (a little closer to the centre, effectively on the same road as Camden St) has a wonderful range and surprisingly good yet simple pub food
I hope these are of use - in no way claimed to be 'best of the best', but places I enjoyed when base on that side of the city, mostly in the Camden Court hotel