People have legitimate reasons for not liking apartments in Dublin of which noise is a major reason.
Lax planning & building regs. dictated to politicians by developers ensured that apartments were small and had neighbours on pretty much every side.
Most people who left apartments did so for valid reasons, not an obsession with land.
Living long term in 98% of apartments in Dublin would ruin your quality of life.
There was 0 chance of being able to sit quietly in that apartment and just concentrate or listen to music at an ambient level.
It's great that your tolerance level for noise is that high - most peoples' aren't, thus the constant exodus to the surrounding counties to get a house(which itself is no longer doable with a sane commute (<1 hr))
Dublin's population is 1.3 million. It's not London. It's not San Francisco. It's not New York.