Ireland are 15-9 ahead at the end of a breathless opening period.
Full-back Hugo Keenan benefited from the quick-thinking of Jamison Gibson-Park to claim his sixth international try just before the break, with Johnny Sexton adding the extras.
But Marcus Smith’s third successful penalty of the game, a straightforward slot which clipped the right post, swiftly reduced the arrears.
Kyle Sinckler was down injured as Keenan crossed and went off for a head injury assessment, with Will Stuart coming on.
England suffered a major blow inside two minutes when Charlie Ewels was shown a red card having clattered into Ireland vice-captain James Ryan.
Ryan was left bloodied and forced off the field for assessment after Ewels ploughed into him, causing head on head contact.
Iain Henderson replaced Ryan, with Sexton kicking the resultant penalty to put the visitors 3-0 ahead.
England were given a reprieve when a Caelan Doris try was chalked off due to a knock-on from Garry Ringrose in the build-up.
The hosts then suffered a further setback, with flanker Tom Curry limping off injured to be replaced by Dombrandt.
England fly-half Marcus Smith kicked a penalty to put the hosts on the scoreboard at 8-3 down just before the midway point of the first half.
Meanwhile, Ireland lock Ryan failed his head injury assessment, leaving Ulster captain Henderson to continue in his place.
Roared on by a vocal home crowd, England responded to the adversity and helped shift the momentum by gaining dominance in the scrum.
Smith had a major opportunity to further reduce their deficit but his second penalty of the afternoon sailed wide with half an hour played.
The Harlequins player made partial amends a few minutes later by calmly slotting between the posts to cut Ireland’s advantage to 8-6.
