My mum and I had a fantastic stay at Sarah and Barra's cottage in Dublin. It was a perfect place for us to stay, walking distance to everything we wanted to see but quiet and peaceful at night so that we could get a good night's sleep too. There's lots of nice places to eat in a very short distance. It was a really cosy, comfy and clean place to stay with everything that we needed.
Barra met us on arrival (and was very nice about us being late after a delayed flight!) and was very helpful, showing us how everything worked and tips on how to get to places of interest and where to eat. He made us feel at home and was very helpful.
All in all, I highly recommend staying here if you don't want to be in the dead centre of town, but want to get away from the crowds whilst still being in walking distance of the city centre. You will get a great place to stay and friendly hosts!