I wouldn't put it ahead of any of the other courses mentioned here (I don't know about Portmarnock Links), but Royal Dublin, while not a favorite, is worth playing. It's flattish and the views are of the docks. The industrial vistas color a lot of the reviews, I think. It has some good history (site of Irish Opens, home of Christy O'Connor, etc.), is quite welcoming to visitors and is the only "Royal" in the republic. And it has some challenging holes. It's had some work done lately, on the bunkers mostly, as I recall. It's principal virtue is being close in--not a bad way to spend an afternoon at all.
Tim,
The recent work was much larger than that... Hawtree effectively redesigned the course, doing all 18 greens, all bunkers and re-routing three holes... I believe many of the greens were raised because of drainage problems arising form the closeness of the water table...
I like the work in general... It brings a consistency to the course, has tidied it up and makes it a sterner challenge... Part of his brief was surely to bring championships back to the course...
However, it is also undeniable that a little of the individuality has been lost, such as the 65 yard long 11th green which had a 5 foot step in the middle with the whole front portion hidden by a deceptive front ridge....
It is a very good links course and certainly worth playing...