Car Rental in December

Try the app join the fleet or fleet. You may need someone in Ireland to use the app. It allows you to rent a car from a random person who has barely used second car, and includes insurance. Main downside is that it depends on the person loaning you their car if they agree, and how well they manage handover. They are Irish based app. May be far,far cheaper, like borrowing a friend's car but with proper insurance and agreement. I used them and they were very person dependant. Day by Day insurance cover is great. Typically 50 euro a day all in, may be less. Cost does not cover fuel. Some "people" on it are garages or hire companies. Others are housewives with spare car.

Another option is to pick hire companies not at the airport.

Another option is

Cartrawler, an Irish based search engine that finds smaller and bigger hire companies. In some locations they may only confirm booking 24 or 48 hours later and they may not actually be at the airport like they claim. They power Ryanair airline car hire amongst others. They don't have a direct to consumer website. Try via Ryanair website, or Aer Lingus website car hire.

There is a company called gocar in Dublin that hires cars by the hour. They have some vehicles set up for cheaper day rate hire. Typically to set up an account on the app can take 24 to 48 hours. I don't think you can book weeks in advance, typically you only reserve or collect a few minutes before use from a nearby street parking space where car is based. It can be very expensive for a full 24 hours if car is priced at hourly rate. Less for cars designated full day pricing. Fuel and insurance is included in price. Car must be returned to exact spot it was hired. Might be better for over a weekend than for weeks at a time.

Another option is to borrow or buy a short term car. Say a 500 euro Yaris. Get something with a month's tax and NCT. Insurance is the problem, you may have to pay for a full year, then cancel and claim back part of year. If you don't have Irish no claims even getting a quote may be difficult. You could ask a friend to subscribe to the fleet app above, then hire car from them through app, which covers day by day insurance which is hard to come by.

You will pay top dollar to rent a car this Christmas. Everyone living abroad who could not come home for the last 2 years will be coming home for Christmas. The demand for rental cars will be exceedingly high plus due to Covid and the global chip shortage rental car companies may not have a full fleet of cars at their disposal. It will be a case of first come, first serve so you will pay accordingly.