I think the point was that it was not possible to buy a ticket between the departing station and passing the barriers at Heuston. It is possible that there would have been somewhere to buy a ticket in Heuston but given that you would be free and clear once past the barriers why bother if you had gotten away with it.
In general fare enforcement is too predictable to work. By way of example, I haven't seen somebody checking tickets on the 1805 to Longford for at least 5 years and I take this train about 180 times per year. So if you wanted to go from Dublin to Longford for a bargain price, a single to Maynooth (or indeed to Tara St.) will serve quite well if you want to get it from Connolly at 18:05. From my experience, there is a less than 0.2% chance of being caught which is odds I'll take for 100 euro fine.
Note that I'm not condoning this, and I pay handsomely for my annual pass so I am a bit annoyed that it is so easy to avoid paying a fare.
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