Originally Posted by
circusboy
Then take AerArann to Galway. It might be an idea to try to use a travel agent and get an interline ticket or else leave plenty of time between flights on the return, Galway airport does suffer delays from time to time with fog.
Will AerArann let you take "1 bag plus 1 personal item" into the cabin on that Dublin-Galway flight? (Someone else said it was on the "RyanAir model", and RyanAir certainly wouldn't.) If you're traveling AA with carryon only (the OP didn't say either way), it's likely that much, and thus connecting to a budget flight that doesn't allow that much means checking one bag and waiting for it at the other end, whereas on the bus or train you can take it all with you.