7 night itinerary feedback

I'm assuming you will have a car?

Dingle and the Dingle peninsular can be done as a day trip from Killarney.

Remeber that 2 nights only effectively gives a day and a bit for each stop.

If you're coming from Seattle, you first evening will be a fog, at best. You'll be leaving Dublin in the morning to get to Killarney at a reasonable hour, and don't forget all the stops along the way that are also "can't be missed". You'll have practically no time in Dublin. Dingle is a great place to visit, but it is one of many great places on the island. We're fans of trad sessions, so the evenings/pubs are the main draws to Dingle (and anywhere) for us, so you miss all that with a day trip. We often use one night stays, because the things we want to see are between towns - two nights means backtracking. We try to plan our stops so that we don't spend all day in the car - maybe two hours of driving with three or four one hour stops at interesting places along the way plus lunch. Driving is slower than Google forecasts.

If you want specific advice, indicate what your group likes to do/see (hike, shop, castles, Neolithics, music, scenery, museums etc.), if it's your first trip, other wrong side driving experience, arrival/departure times.

It is our first trip to Ireland, no experience driving on the wrong side of the road, we have traveled internationally a bit though around Europe. It is myself and my husband. We enjoy hiking, pubs, music, castles, whatever scenery we can get. We like a relatively fast pace to travel but want to leave room to “soak it all in” too. We don’t have a huge pull to give Dublin much time and would rather focus on the west coast (I think).
I’m pretty open to itinerary suggestions at this point.
I feel completely overwhelmed putting together this itinerary as there are so many places that look appealing but time is limited.

The good news is that anywhere you go in Ireland will be rewarding. Also, as a west coaster, driving long distances is easy.

Killarney in May may be a miss for music, depending on the day of the week. Your other targets will all have great music, assuming by music you mean "session". We're a bit of a music bigots - we love a trad session but can take or leave your typical pub music - mostly drinking songs and top 10 covers.

I'm not a great fan of Killarney, as it can be very busy, and you can visit the National Park as a day stop on a route between other places. There are nearby towns like Clonakilty or Kenmare that are less touristy. They are also day-specific for music. Finding music is a matter of looking at Facebook or places like thesession.org.

I'd either discard Dingle or spend at least one night there. A day trip is a lot of driving for scenery that is visible everywhere.

We vary rarely spend three nights in one place, usually spending single nights, with the stops close enough together to get some time in each place. As I mentioned, most of the castles, ruins, walks, and Neolithics are not "in" a town, so the "base" travel method leads to a lot of backtracking or just missing things. The base method works fine if you're interested in "town stuff" like galleries, museums, shopping, etc. The base versus ramble travel methods are a hot debate topic on these forums, with our preferred method generally losing. We travel with just carry-ons, so uprooting on a daily basis is trivial. We use lodging to sleep and eat breakfast. As we get older, the idea of two-night stays is creeping into our plans a little, if the topology of interesting things dictate, although we're starting with a 3 week visit to populate.

My planning method consists of finding towns with likely music, then finding lodging within walking distance of the said bar, then using Google Maps to find "Things to Do" between towns. Shifting the overall vacation or reversing the order is then tested to see if the music odds increase. I'll admit to being OCD in the planning details.

If neither of you is an enthusiastic "wrong-side" driver, maybe don't drive. The driver likely won't appreciate the beautiful scenery if he or she is preoccupied with trying to die and/or kill their spouse. Rabbies and Paddywagon offer day tours (and Rabbies, multi-day tours) from various departure cities. Maybe take a look at those to see if any of them suit you.

So my husband has an interest now in the Causeway Coast… is Dublin, causeway coast, Galway realistic in 7 days and how would one allot time at each?

I have never been to Northern Ireland so cannot comment on that. Regardless of whether you stay in the Republic or go to NI, consider taking the bus to Galway upon your arrival at Dublin airport. There's an express bus that picks you up outside the terminal, gives you a quick little tour through Dublin then takes you to Galway. It's an easier introduction to being on the left hand side of the road, allows you to nap after a trans-Atlantic flight and saves you time and money. The next day you can rent a car in Galway and start your road trip. Depending on car rental agencies you may be able to drop your car off at the Dublin airport for no or at least reasonable one-way drop fee. Don't try to return a car rented in the Republic in NI. You'll be dropping off the car in another country and the drop fee will be significant. Also, if you decide on NI, make sure the car rental agency permits the taking of one of their cars to NI.

Also you will need the permit to enter Northern Ireland as it is part of the Uk. My mind is blank as to what it is called..

Husband does realise the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are two separate countries and you will need an ETA to travel between the two? Also check your car rental allows travel betweeen them.

That is a sudden major shift in itinerary. Yes it is doable.

1 night in Dublin to recover from jet lag.

2 nights somewhere along the Causeway coast - suggest between Ballycastle and Bushmills. Hire a car and spend a day driving through Belfast and then up the Antrim coast (this takes your throught the Antrim Glens). On the second day explore the Causeway coast (Carrick a rede Ripe Bridge, Dunluce Castle, Giants Causeway, Bushmills etc).

1 night Sligo - drive through/past Derry and then into Donegal and round the ccoast for an overnight in Sligo.

I night Westport - driving from Sligo round the coast of Mayo (include Belmullet or Achill Island if time allows)

2 nights in Galway which will give a full day to explore. Don't miss the Sky Road Drice from Clifden which on a fine day is possibly the best short drive in the world. From Clifden, do visit Roundstone with its harbour and fantastic views across the mountains of County Galway).

This covers your 7 nights and should give time to stop off in different places on the way.

What happens after Galway? Do you have to get back to Dublin? If you need to remove a night to get back to Dublin (or somewhere else) then take out Westport and head to Galway from Sligo. At least in May you get long hours of daylight.

The ETA is very easy to apply for. We received ours within minutes of applying.
https://www.gov.uk/eta

Different people will have very different recommendations, and I think it's because Ireland is a surprisingly diverse little island. And highway travel illustrates the diversity, as the motorways are probably the best high-speed roadways I've ever experienced, while country roads are fairly frightening, being typically both very narrow and lined by stone walls.

I love Ireland, though not Galway. Much preferred Kinsale, and we absolutely loved staying in Limerick, which few people talk about. Have a great trip!