The answer
Take Bus Éireann 225/226 from the rank in front of the terminal to Parnell Place and Kent Station in about 25 minutes — since 20 July 2026 it carries Cork's flat TFI 90-minute fare: €1.70 on a Leap card (€2.40 cash), with unlimited transfers on any city bus for the next 90 minutes.
The NTA folded the airport routes into Cork's city fare system, so the airport hop is priced like any other bus trip — no 'airport surcharge' exists any more, and tap-and-go validators mean you just board and touch.
Tight budget? The bus at €1.70 with a Leap card; buy or top one up at WHSmith inside the terminal.
In a hurry? Cork Airport's own page pegs a rank taxi to the city centre at ≈€20 — split between two people that is within euro cents of double bus fare, door to door in 10–15 minutes.
⚠️ The traps (walk past these)
'€8–10 airport coach' pages are flat wrong
Aggregators still sell the airport bus as a premium shuttle at €5–10. On 20 July 2026 the NTA made Bus Éireann's Cork city services a single flat fare — airport included — so the correct adult price is €1.70 on Leap with free transfers inside 90 minutes.
Do this: pay the city fare; refuse to hand over coach money for a city bus
Cash costs 41% more
Without a Leap card the same hop is €2.40 and you forfeit the 90-minute transfer window and fare capping. The card itself is on sale at WHSmith inside the terminal, according to the airport's own bus page.
Do this: buy or top up a Leap card in the arrivals shop before walking to Stop A
The wrong stop letter goes the wrong way
At the airport forecourt, Stop A is the city-bound 225/226, Stop B is the southbound services (226 toward Kinsale, 225 toward Carrigaline and Ringaskiddy), and Stop C is the Citylink coach to Limerick and Galway. Boarding B thinking it is A puts you on the N71 to Kinsale instead of the M28 to town.
Do this: check the stop letter: A city, B south, C Citylink
There is no direct bus to Dublin
The airport's page is explicit: no bus runs directly from Cork Airport to Dublin — every Dublin service departs from the city. The real link is the Intercity train from Kent Station, the last stop of your €1.70 bus ride.
Do this: ride the 226 to Kent Station and change to rail, or pre-book a city-centre coach