As Aer Lingus resumed a limited transatlantic service on Saturday, anxious Americans who had been stranded in Ireland for days wondered what sort of country they were returning to.
Denver couple Ms Irene Knight and Mr Jerry Moore wanted to get home as soon as possible because Mr Moore was due to have knee surgery on Wednesday. "My husband's ready to go bomb all the Arab countries, but I said you have to find the dude who did it first," Ms Knight said.
Former US marine Mr C.J. Kuehl, who now works in real estate, said he could not imagine going back to his normal life in Chicago after the attacks in New York and Washington.
After a week-long golfing trip, Mr Kuehl and his wife, Anne, had just boarded their plane when the news broke on Tuesday.
On Saturday, they were back at the airport to catch one of three flights to the US from Dublin Airport.
"It's going to be a totally different world. Am I going to be back in real estate? Am I going to go back into the marine corps? What's the point of my profession? I don't know how you just go back to work," he said.
Crowds of Americans stood on stand-by, saying they were prepared to travel to any location in the US.
Mr Tom Conville's destination was Denver, but he said he would "take any plane at this point", after coming to the airport three days in a row trying to get a flight.
A diabetic, he was anxious to return home to get his regular medication. Mr Conville looked dismayed as he described how he felt "kinda lost" after what had happened in his homeland.
Finally homeward bound was Mr Mark Cunningham, a lifeguard from Honolulu, who had been at a surfing competition in Bundoran, Co Donegal.
On Tuesday, his flight from Dublin was diverted to Gander, Newfoundland. Unable to enter the US, Aer Lingus returned the passengers to Dublin on Friday to catch another flight on Saturday.
Mr Cunningham said every American knew someone who was caught up in the tragedy in New York.
His sister-in-law had escaped from the World Trade Centre. "It's the biggest city in the world yet at times it's a very small town," he said.
