From the 50 odd primary schools listed here as being ins South Dublin a quick read through puts a majority as religious run schools just based on the name: https://www.schooldays.ie/primary-schools-in-ireland/primary...

My wife is expecting our first child in a few weeks - I expect to go from the registrar office with his birth cert straight to the two nearest Educate Together schools.

I wonder where those get money to operate from.

Is it really money gathered by good catholics, or is it effectively money from the state coffers that people of faith get, cross over and then pass as their own?

Truncate their funding and suddently you have 10% of catholic schools instead of 90%. There's zero reasons why general populace should baptise church in their tax money.