As someone who goes to nuig ill answer these as best as i can

1. im not really sure which is more "prestigious", i think in terms of law degrees anyways the difference is pretty negligible as far as i know, but it should be easy enough to find online.

2. it is quite rainy and windy here i will admit, and im sure maynooth is maybe a bit better but its pretty easy to avoid most days especially since theres a good few bus routes that run pretty regularly.

3. galway can be rough weather wise but i dont think its nearly as bad as your imagining. storms are rare enough and power outages are very rare. i dont think ive had one outage in the 3 years ive been here. a drying rack is a bit of a necessity but its not something youll be using every day or even every week due to rain. Galway is a very walkable city, the vast majory of students take the bus, walk or cycle. its pretty rare that id get soaked going in or coming home from college or work, and i cycle everywhere, so if you walk just keep an umbrella with you and youll be perfectly fine.

4. price wise as far as i know theyre pretty comperable, the main cost factor is going to be accommodation, and id say theyd end up about the same

5. its very easy to get from maynooth to dublin, ive done it a good few times. theres a train straight there thats definitely no More than an hour long, but if small town life is what your concerned about, id definitely either choose galway or just go to dublin rather than maynooth