Any driving tips or thoughts?

The person driving will miss a lot of beautiful country because the driving requires so much attention. If possible, look into take a tour for the whole trip. Or perhaps day tours from various locations. If you do rent a car, please don't drive on arrival day. Jet lag, driving on the left, and being on strange ground can easily lead to an accident. Even a minor fender bender at the first of a trip will put a damper on the entire trip. Just food for thought.

Have a read through of this. We rent from Gemut for our trips to Germany, Austria and Italy.

https://www.gemut.com/images/stories/report/CarrentalReport2023-final.pdf

To add a positive spin (pun intended): I was very nervous about the prospect of driving on the left (my partner is the driver), but it was absolutely fine! I even contemplated a tour, something we have never done. My husband was adamant that he could do it. He had one slip-up where he got on the wrong side, but it was in a rural area with no traffic and it was quickly remedied (there were extenuating circumstances).
We rented at the airport to avoid city driving right off, and this was a good strategy I think. There are some traffic circles and that gave us a good opportunity to get our legs under us, then we were off.
A taxi driver told us to remember "your pal is on the path" (meaning the passenger is adjacent to the sidewalk)--we found it helpful as a reminder.

Here's a good way to find and rent a car. I agree that driving the day after an overnight flight is a bad idea for you and others on the road. I had a lot more trouble than I expected with left-side driving, but some people take to it easily -- just one way to find out. Automatic shift is a good idea, though it will put you in a larger and more expensive car than you might get otherwise. If Dublin is your first city, get the car when you leave, it will be an expensive nuisance in the city (likewise Belfast). Speaking of Belfast, driving into northern Ireland will be fine but don't leave the car there if you rented in the republic, or you'll pay a big drop fee. And of course read our host's advice about this.

Hard to offer more without knowing where you want to go.

TC is correct--the person driving will miss a lot of beautiful scenery. The driver really has to pay attention to driving, and they won't get to enjoy the landscape. That being said, renting a car allowed us to go exactly where we wanted to, and not just where a tour went. Driving wasn't as challenging as I thought it would be. The one thing I would do differently is pay to have a second driver. (You'll have to pay extra to add an additional driver.) My husband got to enjoy the views, while my eyes were glued to the road. It would have been nice to be able to switch seats with him for half the trip!

We drove around Ireland over 15 days and it was lovely (and again when we went last spring.) We both were drivers on the car rental, we stopped a LOT along the way as there are so many places to stop and admire. We did not feel like the driver missed out on anything by driving. From our perspective it enhanced the experience. Just remember to take your time on the small, country roads and hiding under those hedges alongside the road are stone walls so don't think they will give you any sort of buffer. :-)

Definitely in my opinion is to rent a small automatic car. Get the CDW and as said don't drive on arrival and certainly not in Dublin. There are numerous traffic circles and when driving and you miss an exit just go around again! Enjoy!

Thank you all so much! Since this is a mother-daughter trip, I will be the driver. As for our itinerary, I honestly haven't been able to nail anything down without knowing our car situation, but initial thoughts are Kilkenny and surrounding areas, Dingle Peninsula, and Galway/surrounding areas. Having a car would make things a lot easier, but everyone I've spoken to has said how stressful it is.

Knowing where you want to go will help determine if you even need a vehicle. On our Ireland trip years ago we rented through Avis. I didn’t find some of the rural roads to be well marked so have some type navigation system, whether it be Waze, Google maps or an actual GPS like Garmin.

I've generally found the Street View feature on google maps to be quite useful in helping me to familiarize myself with the roads in Ireland - including upcoming intersections, signage, roundabouts, general road conditions, etc. Though I've driven it several times now, previewing the route from Dublin airport onto the Motorway always improves my comfort level and makes for a smooth transition during those first few minutes when anxiety levels can be elevated.
It really helps me to have seen at least some of what I'm in for that day before I get behind the wheel. Might help you too.

I have rented a car twice in Ireland, one of which had a manual transmission. I drove in central Dublin once, and on the ring road surrounding the city the other time.

The main challenge was driving on the left side of the road. The three key things to remember are that the driver is always in the center of the road; right turns are hard, and left turns are easy; and it's best to drive the speed limit or under it.

Also, you have to get used to roundabouts (if you're American or from a country without them). Before you enter the roundabout, you will see wayfaring signs with directions towards cities; usually there are three exits from the roundabouts. Look for the city (or direction) you want to go, count the number of the exits within the roundabout and take the exit going towards your destination.

I found I prefer roundabouts to stop lights. Roundabouts improve traffic flow.

Congratulations! What a wonderful accomplishment to celebrate!

How long do you have for this trip?
Where are you flying in and out of?

Only you know what kind of driver you are and your temperament and how you handle new situations and stress. My husband has driven all around Europe with a stick shift but he thought driving in Ireland got to be too stressful. We did get an automatic there which I recommend.

If landing in Dublin, maybe get the bus to Galway and settle in first before picking up a car. Then if you head to Killarney, you could join some small group tours to relax and enjoy the views. Turn the car in at Dublin airport and do your Dublin time at the end.

If possible, fly into Shannon and out of Dublin or vice versa, to eliminate backtracking. Enjoy!

We normally don't rent cars in Europe.but did in Ireland because public transportation is not as convenient there. Beware the sheep in the road!(No we did not hit one)

I was surprised by how non-stressful driving in Ireland was, and I had never driven left side before. Just wasn't a problem, for me at least. My wife would not have adjusted as easily. Auto trans and Android Auto were essential, though.

Be careful driving on the roads that show up as fine lines on a map. They're really narrow.