Commuting into Dublin centre from Swords/ Donnabate

[Bodear]

Hi, I’d really appreciate some advice as I’m probably moving to Ireland and going to be living north of Dublin but working in the city centre. Can anyone give me an idea of average commute times and parking costs? Is driving such a bad idea that I should abandon it and just look for houses that are on public transport links?
Thanks!

Donabate on a commuter train - maybe 40mins but trains very packed at peak times.

Swords - Dublin bus and a private service called swords express that goes via the port tunnel.

Swords express is very good. Still, about 40 minutes to the city at peak times from north Swords. If going from south Swords it is a little faster but some of the buses are full by the time it gets there. Dublin bus is a nightmare, don’t do it! Commuting by car is do-able if you go early in the morning ie leave before 7 and you will sail in... can take well over an hour at peak times. Day by day, a car park could be about €10 and up, though you could get some deals for frequent use I think.

Avoid using Dublin Bus at all costs- it used to take me an hour each evening to get from Westmoreland Street to Santry (approx four miles)

The private companies (Swords Express etc) are apparently much more efficient.

Thank you all. That’s really helpful. An hour for 4 miles sounds horrendous. It’s tricky to know where are the boundaries of where is commutable without understanding the vagaries of the traffic/ buses/ trains so I appreciate your advice.