Driving in Ireland

Be aware that in Ireland and the UK a van is commercial vehicle, a mini van would be described as a car derived van. The term that you'll be looking for is a people carrier or MPV.

Whilst a 7 seater MPV may accommodate all passengers it may not be big enough for all the luggage, storage space is usually not relative to the passenger capacity in such vehicles so you may find two or three cars a better option depending on the size.

Even if they were equally easy to drive (which, as indicated above, they aren't), get two smaller vehicles rather than one larger one. This way, your party can split up if desired (even for short times, such as if some people want to leave dinner early while others want to linger).

2 cars for sure. There is no way that you will fit 6 people with luggage in a regular Irish sized car. We had a SUV for 2 adults, 2 kids and our luggage and it was a tight fit

We had six adults in 2014, and we got a mini-bus (think small VW bus). It fit our luggage and all six of us with no problems, and my brother and sister, who did all the driving, had few problems. Well, except for the small town we were trying to get through just as school got out. Kids cutting across the road, cars parked on both sides of the road, and lots of traffic on the main street meant that my sister didn’t see the one car that was badly parked and sticking two feet out from the curb. Sideswipe! I think that might have happened even with a smaller car, though.

We recently returned from a few weeks in Ireland and the Skoda Superb sedan we rented arguably had the trunk space for six (it was the largest trunk I'd seen since late 1960s Buicks), but it seats only 5. It probably is the largest car I would recommend to someone unaccustomed or rusty on their "wrong side" driving. If I weren't so accustomed to driving on very narrow, winding roads in rural France and rural French villages, even this Skoda model might have been too big.

So -- as others have suggested, I'd go with two cars. No question.

2 cars.

Get all the insurance offered. Reserve automatics but don’t be surprised you get a clutch.

Use GPS and the evenings before your drives use Google Maps to plot your routes so each driver knows where you are going and the route to follow.

Slow down and On the back roads keep eyes open for bicyclists, sheep, dog walkers, and farm equipment.

Enjoy the stunning beauty, the friendliness, and the Guinness.

Slainte!

I vote for getting the larger vehicle so you can all travel together (I assume that’s the reason you’re going together). Granted, Ireland isn’t Scotland where we rented a smaller car and were given a mini van, but we had no problems. In Ireland, I can only recall a couple places where a smaller call would have made passing easier. As someone else stated, keep luggage to a minimum (1 bag per person) and to the smallest size possible. No huge suitcases. When renting online ensure you stipulate an automatic to make life easier.