Visiting Your Company’s Dublin Office: A Guide for US Executives

By Alan McLoughlin, founder of Lir Executive Chauffeur Service

Quick summary

• Most overnight flights from the US land in Dublin early in the morning, so plan the first day around a hotel stop or a later first meeting.
• Dublin Airport to the Docklands, the city centre or Ballsbridge takes about 40 minutes, depending on traffic. Allow more at rush hour.
• A chauffeur booked for the day waits between meetings and drives you to client dinners, so you never rebook a car.
• Your EA can book everything by email from the US, with a fixed quote agreed before you travel and receipts afterwards.
• Flying home, US flights leave from Terminal 2 with US Preclearance, and Dublin Airport suggests arriving 3 hours early.

Day one: landing and getting to the office

Most overnight flights from the US arrive in Dublin early in the morning. After passport control, baggage and customs, you walk out into the arrivals hall at Terminal 1 or Terminal 2, where your chauffeur is waiting. Our guide to arriving at Dublin Airport from the US walks through each step. Send your flight number when you book. Alan monitors flight times for every airport pickup, so if your flight lands early or late, the collection moves with it. In Alan’s experience, flights from New York tend to come in early: on one recent booking, a flight due at 4am landed at 3am, and Alan was already in arrivals. If you arrive through Dublin Airport’s Platinum VIP service, which is booked directly with the airport, tell us when you book and we collect you as you leave Platinum. From the airport, the drive to the Docklands, the city centre or Ballsbridge is about 40 minutes, depending on traffic. At rush hour, allow more. After a night flight, most executives want one of two things: a hotel stop to check in and change, or the office directly. Tell us the address and first meeting time and we plan the route around it, with time built in for passport control and baggage.

Getting between meetings in Dublin

A week at a Dublin office is rarely one address. There are client meetings across the city, a dinner most evenings, and sometimes an off site at the likes of the K Club or another hotel close to Dublin. On an as directed booking, the car and chauffeur stay with you for an agreed block of time, such as a full day. Between meetings, your chauffeur waits nearby, keeps an eye on traffic and the next leg, and comes to the door when you message. Waiting time is part of a quote fixed before the day. If the day runs longer than planned, the extra time is agreed with you separately. In the evening, Alan can drive you to dinner with clients and wait to bring you back to your hotel when you are ready. Travelling with colleagues? Our 7 seater MPVs suit small teams, and Lir can run bookings with more than one car and driver for a larger visit.

What this looks like in practice

Alan regularly drives the CEO of a large company on visits to Dublin. The brief is always the same: be discreet, be on time, and get him to every meeting with time to spare. For years, Alan also drove a regular delegate through Airline Economics week in Ballsbridge. The client usually arrived through Platinum, and Alan planned each day with the client’s PA: on hand every conference day, waiting between sessions, then driving to client dinners in the evening.

Booking from the US: a guide for EAs

Most office visits are booked by an executive assistant or travel manager in the US, often while Ireland is asleep. Lir operates 24/7 and confirms details by email, so a request sent at the end of the US working day is picked up overnight. To get a fixed quote, send:

1. The flight number and arrival time
2. The hotel, and each meeting address with its time
3. Any dinners, off sites or evening plans where the car should wait
4. The number of passengers and bags
5. Who should receive the receipts and expense paperwork

The quote is fixed before the day, and receipts and expense paperwork are provided for corporate bookings, so your finance team has one set of documents to reconcile.

Flying home

Flights to the US leave from Terminal 2, where you complete US immigration and customs through US Preclearance before you board, so you land in the US as a domestic passenger. Dublin Airport suggests arriving 3 hours before a long haul flight, and Terminal 2 security is busiest from 5am to noon. Allow about an hour for the drive from the city on a weekday morning. Our guide to US Preclearance at Dublin Airport explains the timings.

Why listen to us?

Lir is run by its founder, Alan McLoughlin, who served with the Military Police Corps of the Irish Defence Forces before moving into close protection. He is a member of the International Association of Close Protection Professionals (IACPP), is ISTI security trained, and has been part of two US presidential visits, driving members of the president’s team in the convoy. Lir is based in Ashbourne, a short drive from Dublin Airport, and is Fáilte Ireland accredited for service excellence in Irish tourism.

Questions from US executives and EAs