I was in a similar situation just over two years ago. However, I needed the money pretty fast, to pay for a house. I could have faffed around for a while or researched an economical method but had been through enough house purchase stress that I just wanted to get the money into my account, then straight to my solicitors.
Anyway, I just went to my bank. They gave me a choice between taking the current exchange rate there and then, or taking whatever it was when the money landed.
I opted for the latter, gave my BIC/IBAN to the US bank, and instructed them to send the lot.
It arrived a day or two later, at a slightly better exchange rate than had I taken on the day I enquired.
I’m sure Currencies Direct and other operators may give better exchange rates. But in terms of speed and peace of mind (with respect to house purchase), giving my Irish a/c details to the US bank and asking them to “send it all here” was simple.