Adult trip to Ireland

I highly recommend getting a Rick Steves guidebook on Ireland. There are 2 to choose from: the Ireland guidebook and the Best of Ireland guidebook. The former is more in-depth, but either will suffice to give you a sense of what there is to see and experience. Ireland is smaller than Maine, so it's quite easy to get around, both in the Republic and Northern Ireland and between the two. Be aware, though, that the Republic uses Euros, while the North uses GBP for currency.

How much time you have, whether you rent a car and/or are interested in organized day trips will also affect what you can reasonably see and do.

Besides Rick's guidebooks, also look at his 14 day Best of Ireland tour on this website. His itinerary will give you ideas. We took the tour and absolutely loved it. Not only is it feasible to visit the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, you should.

Of course factoring in the time you have to travel; how feasible is it for one or more driving on the "wrong side of the road" and what your general interests are is dependent on your itinerary. I'd suggest joining the tour and leaving the stress of transportation and managing five adults to Rick.

Enjoy your adventure!

Here is the RS advice re: itinerary:
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/ireland/itinerary
Much depends on when you are going, whether you will rent a car (you might need a van to seat 5 comfortably with even minimal luggage, and, most importantly, what your interests are.

What should you see?
Hmmm. That is one broad question. Definitely do google search or get a guidebook. There are a plethora of things to do.

How long are you planning for a visit? Are you planning on hiring a car? (Remember Northern Ireland and Ireland are two separate countries. Norther Ireland is part of the UK and uses pounds. Ireland uses the euro. Check car insurance allows you to travel between the two.)

Don't be too ambitious and try and cram in everything. Ireland (both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland) may not look very big but it will take a lot longer to cover distances than you might think. It is a place to slow down, relax and enjoy...

By all means use the 14 day RS itinerary as a guide to what you do but remember that is with someone else driving. You may want to slow down and add extra days in some places (or cut out places that sound less appealing). Don't have too many one night stops - not only are they hard work, you will spend a lot of time in the car unpacking and packing again. Remember two nights will only effectively give you one and a bit days to explore a place. You may want to build in an extra night in places where there is a lot to see and do.

What should we see

That question is impossible to answer - it all depends on the kind of things YOU want to do and see. My list may be the list from hell for you! are you wanting scenery, walking, ancient ruins, industrial archaeology, social history, ruined castles and abbeys, stately homes, museums, culture, shopping, pub, big cities or small towns and villages... Do you want the classic tick list sights or something more out of the way? The options are endless.

You do need to get a guide book - preferably one with lots of pictures and start thinking and planning. DK Eyewitness Ireland is excellewnt and covers many places not mentioned in other guides. It has lots of pictures and the maps are good enough for initiall planning. It doen't need to be the latest edition, so pick up a second hand copy on Amazon but do check current opening times!

There is also DK Eyewitness Back Roads Ireland that has ideas for different driving tours that could be combined into an itinerary.