10 Days on the Road in Ireland

A few general thoughts:
On your arrival day you're going to be comprehensively bushed after a long overnight flight (which I'm assuming is what you're doing). Rather than slogging thru the day with your luggage in tow, waiting to check into your accommodation in the afternoon, I'd suggest just booking a place for the night before so that it's "ready on arrival" when you get there. Dumping the bags, refreshing yourselves with a hot shower and maybe a (short) nap would recharge your batteries from the get-go and make the rest of your first day much more enjoyable.
Why stay in Galway? It's a nice city but it is, after all, a city. A better option (IMO) would be to collect your car, drive to Doolin, and spend the night there. That way you'd be well positioned for getting to the cliffs early the next morning, ie before the tourist hordes descend around 9 AM, and could explore the Burren at your leisure. Stop by the Burren National Park Visitor Center for info on hikes and short walks - it's a great place to stretch your legs.
Driving down the coast from Doolin to Dingle is a scenic way to go if it's a nice day. There's a cliff walk in Kilkee that's quite nice, and either there or Kilrush would be good stops for lunch. Take the Tarbert ferry across the Shannon. Won't save any time but you won't care. For an extra thrill drive down into Dingle via Conor Pass ... but only if it's a relatively sunny day. Can be a nail biter if it's rainy or foggy.
Suggest staying near, but not in, Killarney. The town can become clogged with traffic once the tour buses start to roll. By staying somewhere between Portmagee and Castlemaine you could drive in to Killarney (early) enjoy the sites and then get out of there. Pleasant excursions would be to the Gap of Dunloe and the Skellig Ring Road - the Kerry Cliffs near there are also quite nice.
Powerscourt is nice enough but in October you'll have missed the glory of the gardens. Glendalough would be my suggestion, followed by a drive up the Old Military Road through the Sally Gap as you exit the Wicklow Mtns. on your way back to Dublin.
Just my two Euro cents...

Thanks for the reply!

We both work crazy hours, so we aren't too worried about the adjustment. I'm usually pretty good with the jetleg. I'm going to be contacting our accommodations and see abut early check in but getting that extra night does seem to be a pretty good idea.

Guess I wanted to stay in Galway because I have heard good things about, but you're right, it is a city so that is why I'm limiting it to just one night.

Thanks for all the suggestions; the Conor pass is on our list for now but we'll see how we feel when we get there haha

Hi, we just returned from 6 stops in 11 days and found Galway to be one of our favorite places. Opinions on this board are very mixed about it and I am not sure why. It really is a beautiful, fun place, more of a big town than city. We stayed just over the Wolfe Tone Bridge in the West End near the Claddagh and it was gorgeous and so close to everything. I think this is more desirable than the location of most of the B and B's on College Road north of Eyre Square. Maybe that explains some of the differing viewpoints on the place. I'm not sure.

We did the Cliffs of Moher with Lahinch (a nice beach town not far from Cliffs) as a base and the Dingle Peninsula with Tralee as a base. I chose those places in part to reduce the drive between the Cliffs and Dingle to about 2 or 2.5 hours. It was a real nice coastal drive and I agree that Kilkee was a great stop. We had lunch in Kilkee at the Diamond Rocks Cafe and did the Cliff Walk there which was indeed wonderful, but not quite the Cliffs of Moher. Also stopped to see a castle near the ferry.

To see the Cliffs of Moher, we parked near Hags Head at the Southern end of the Cliffs (for 2 Euros for the car in a farmer's lot) and walked most of the way to the Visitors Centre. Not crowded at all and an amazing walk, breath-taking view the whole way.

We did the Dingle Peninsula 2 days and skipped the Ring of Kerry, also to cut down some driving, and don't have regrets about that.

I'd recommend a drive through the Burren with a few stops along the R480 - Poulnabrone Dolmen, particularly. In addition to seeing the ancient burial site, it allows you to walk on the Burren landscape some. It's so unique.

Enjoy the trip!