Look at it this way. If they're shouting obsenities at you, at least it means they see you and probably aren't going to run you down. I'm far more worried about the drivers who don't say anything because they're too busy talking on their mobile phones.

Do many people get around on bikes in Dublin? I don't remember seeing a lot of bikes there (but that was in my pre-cycling days, so I might not have noticed) and that most people just walked everywhere. I drove through the city center once and wouldn't want to do it again. And at that, I was just coming up from the south coast on my way back to Howth. All in all, I found driving in Ireland a rather hair raising experience. Is biking there much worse? How hard would it be, say, to bike from the city center to Howth?

Also can you take bikes on DART? What about Irishrail? My wife says we're not driving next trip.