I know there are a lot of people very weary of this topic. And I know that this post is asking about Dublin, but we have strayed far from that already. I am talking about the USA only. At my 4th of July parade, I ran into one of our local airport’s TSA personnel and just for fun asked her about this eternal debate that we have on the forum over what is and what is not allowed. I told her that I have for more than 15 years carried my folding z-poles in my carry-on backpack with no problem, and that I have been accused (here on the forum) of being a scofflaw. And that I wondered what her (unofficial of course) opinion was.
She told me that, in my airport at least, the TSA has concluded that the prohibition applies to one-piece hiking poles, and not to things that are collapsed into segments. They have decided that the purpose of the prohibition is to prevent the use of the pole as a weapon. Turning a z-pole into a weapon would be time-consuming, inefficient, and certain to attract attention. She said to me that it is less dangerous than a knitting needle, which is universally allowed.
BTW, covering up the pointy ends of your poles with a rubber tip has absolutelly no impact on the TSA machines, so if your poles are going to be denied, it doesn’t matter whether there are rubber tips on them or not.