Help with my 10 day Ireland itinerary !!!!!

Hi Jennifer- part of determining what can be seen, in what order, and in what timeframe, includes method(s) of transportation. Are you planning on renting a car and navigating the (especially in the West) narrow and sometimes twisty/hilly roads, or using a short, cheap flight to go from Dublin to other parts, or using the bus, etc? Flight/bus schedules could affect how you plan. A roughly circular route could give you a more efficient route than zig-zagging, so going either clockwise or counter-clockwise could help you fit in maximum time and hopefully minimum hassles. If it's possible, departing from Shannon Airport in the West would save you backtracking to Dublin and whatever time and expense that would require.

How many days do you really have, does the ten days include arrival and departure? That can make a difference because flight home is usually in am to NYC so you can't count that day and arrival day is usually in am but you may be jet lagged, some of us feel it and some don't. If it was my trip, and have done it many times, is to fly into Shannon, see west coast sights and then down towards south coast and back to Dublin if you feel Dublin is a must. I'd also drop off car before dublin as you won't need it there. Would personally skip Guiness brewery, boring and expensive especially if is rainy you won't see anything from the top. Highlight in Dublin for us was Kilmainhaim gaol, been there three times and will go again. The rope bridge may not be feasible in this trip.

I'd suggest flying into Shannon and out of Dublin... Shannon is an easier place to get used to driving. Definitely get a car if possible. Public transit can be time-consuming. When planning driving times, assume it will be longer than US. Speeds can be high, but many roads are narrow and winding. I seem to remember that planning for about 40 miles each hour worked well outside of urban areas.

For what it's worth, I did the following on my trip to Ireland. As it is somewhat similar to your plans, you might find it helpful to compare logistics. I crammed in a lot, but took my time enjoying things, and even had time to go out of my way a bit giving rides to a couple groups of American kids who didn't quite have their travel plans perfected. I was exhausted by the end of the trip, though.
Day 1 - Arrived at Dublin airport 9am, immediately headed north in rental car. Visited Carrick a rede rope bridge, the Giant's Causeway (I'd recommend this over the rope bridge), and Dunluce Castle. - Slept in Londonderry.
Day 2 - Guide wall tour of Londonderry, fiddle concert, slept in Londonderry.
Day 3 - Drove to Buncrana, looonnng, leisurely walk around the nearby loch, Chieftains concert, slept in Buncrana.
Day 4 - Looonnng drive to Dingle, pub music and ale, slept in Dingle
Day 5 - Drove around the "Ring of Dingle", more pub music and ale, slept in Dingle
Day 6 - Drove through half the Ring of Kerry, slept in Portmagee.
Day 7 - Skellig Islands trip (spectacular!), slept in Portmagee
Day 8 - Drove remainder of Ring of Kerry, drove to Cashel, stopping to visit Cahir Castle on the way, slept in Cashel
Day 9 - Visited the Rock of Cashel, overshot Dublin to visit Newgrainge, then on to Dublin.
Day 10 - Enjoyed Dublin.
Day 11 - flew home

I used a route planner on "drive-alive UK" (similar to map quest), but didn't bother to print it out, as there were dozens and dozens of roundabouts, and the directions would have amounted to about forty pages. Instead, I memorized a lits of towns en route, then simply took the appropriate turn at every roundabout. I'd pick up a good atlas on arrival, and make sure you have detailed directions to your accomodations. Depending how far off the beaten path you go, you may be surprised at what they consider "roads". It gnerally takes longer to get around than you might expect, due to tjhe many(!!) roundabouts.

Bear in mind, it is possible that your car insurance may not be valid in Ireland (at least mine wasn't). Make sure to verify insurance beforehand!

Enjoy!

I spent about the same amount of time in Ireland a couple of years ago.
I flew into Dublin, only stayed 2 nights, but took a hop on hop off bus to tour the city, stopping for a wonderful visit at the Guinness Factory- do not miss this and the view from the Gravity bar (not to mention the sampling the Guinness) at the top.
Also do not miss Kilmainham Goal - I was prepared not to like this, but it was one of the most moving, interesting visits I've ever done. Very essential for learning a bit about Irish history.
Trinity College is interesting, to see the Book of Kells if you are interested in this, but I found the library there fantastic. Do not miss it if you go there.
From Dublin we rented a car and drove across the country to Kenmare, where we spent a week. Very cute town, from there we drove the Ring of Kerry, Dingle Peninsula, went to Muckross House, and Blarney Castle, saw a couple of other wonderful things which escape me at the moment, but this is a beautiful area, to drive through. Roads are 2 lanes and you have to be alert, but we didn't have any trouble, being first time left-side drivers.
We didn't have the time to make the long drive (on narrow roads) up to the Cliffs of Moher -- have to do it next time.
Be sure to visit many pubs, sample the ales and hear some Irish music, you will have a great time if you do!