driving manual

why would you want a course if you already drive one?

Do you want to take a day or two out of your holiday to be on a course in Ireland? Or do you mean at home before you leave?

Carol,
If you already know how to drive a manual I think your learning curve will be brief. If you're at all concerned just take a lap or two around the block to let the butterflies settle a bit before you strike out on the open road. And if you're still concerned just book an automatic, although I really think it would be overkill for the 3 of you and not worth the extra cost.
Per your other posts you indicated that you'd be picking up the vehicle in or near Galway - good idea since I wouldn't recommend driving in the city (Dublin, Cork, etc.).
Driving around Connemara is a real joy. Nice roads, friendly and accommodating local drivers, etc. One thing that helped me get ready for the adventure was to preview my daily route using the Google Maps street view feature. Helped to have seen signage, roundabouts, turnoffs, etc. in advance. Might work for you too.
With one of you doing the driving, and the other two reminding you to "stay left", navigate, look for signs, etc. you'll be fine.

I've only done it once and luckily that was in New Zealand where there was very little traffic. I'd say it probably took me a couple of hours to feel comfortable. Shifting left handed was one of my worries but once I was in the 'right' seat it became pretty intuitive. The clutch, brake, and gas pedals are all in the same configuration. I wouldn't worry too much about it, especially with 3 people. I was by myself so I had to keep reminding myself to "stay left Nancy, stay left Nancy". My biggest issue was when I came back to the car after being away from it and always going to the 'passenger side' to get in the car, made me laugh a couple of times.

Hi Carol, seriously, if you can drive a stick in the US you will be able to drive a stick on the British Isles. It's looks much worse than it is, trust me. Make sure your first couple of nights accommodation is not in a big city. If it's Dublin pick accommodation e.g. in Malahide, Sutton or Howth. The drive from the airport to those places is smooth, plenty of space to practice and there is DART railservice to and from the city.

Carol, a short word of caution, I found that I most often forgot the whole "stay to the left" issue when I transitioned from a single lane road to a two lane road (while in Scotland but there are some single lane roads in Ireland as well). While on the single lane road you pretty much are in the middle so if you dont pay close attention that first 100 yards on the two lane road can be scary...something to consider. I also took advantage of the Google street level view as mentioned by an earlier poster and it was very helpful to me while in the Highlands and out on Skye. It wont do a great job showing the elevation changes but really was helpful to me demystifying roundabouts and other roadway merging situations!

Take this test then decide if you should drive in the UK:
http://www.safedrivingforlife.info/take-official-free-practice-driving-theory-test/

This practice test is free and contains 50 multiple choice questions.
The pass mark is 43 out of 50. Once you begin you’ll have 57 minutes
to complete the test. You can review your answers at the end of the
test, and then take a second test.

Hi Driving in Ireland is not too difficult
The first days you need to be careful until you settle in.
The small scenic roads need to be driven slowly.

you if wish to e mail me I can give you some information on the roads and scenic locations

pjdbbf@yahoo.com

True, but Carol might be driving some of the time in the UK, ie in Northern Ireland.

Thanks for all the positive replies Much appreciated
Carol

Hi,
There is information on www.rsa.ie

also try google : "facebook driving ireland safely" for more links to assist ... such as Car Rental companies who provide information

Enjoy your trip

Just rent an automatic. Sure it costs more but if you usually drive on the right side and on wider roads it is worth it, even if you can drive a stick in your own country .

We started our left hand drive in Manchester airport to North Wales, which was largely rural and not heavily trafficked but the signage favors the Welsh language (lovely to the ears but in text looks like the cat fell asleep on the keyboard, so difficult to discern while driving--and jet-lagged). Get used to your vehicle before you get off the lot. Trying to navigate signage and traffic circles was pretty challenging as were the roads, narrow and bordered by rock walls in many places. You will probably hit something with your side mirror. The world will not end when you do but it does tweak your adrenal glands. Ireland, comparatively, was a breeze, the signage was clearer, and the rock walls not as close to the road. The Irish roads tell you several times to back off your speed, "SLOW" "SLOWER" "VERY SLOW" (we expected the next warning to say JAYSUS MARY AND JOSEPH, WILL YE STOP NOW) so the highway department clearly had human nature in mind when they set off to paint the roads. Check your rental over and take photos: the care we rented in Ireland had scratches all along the left fenders, wheel covers and mirrors. When I went back to the rental agent to show him the photo evidence and demand that it be noted on our rental agreement, he dismissed it with, "all cars in Ireland look that way!". Still, I made him note it on the documents. Good luck, so many beautiful things to see there that a train or bus won't get you too readily...

I found the driving of the car and shifting of gears with my left hand the easy part but driving on the left was quite a challenge. It just did not come naturally to me and I found it very stressful. After three weeks in Ireland, in a small town on the Dingle peninsula, it did not get any better! Renting an automatic may eliminate some of the concern but the driving on the left will not change. The auto insurance required by Auto Europe was quite high and we were told it was not covered in any other way than through them. Just ask a lot of question and read the fine print.....

Carol,
My husband and I both used to own manual cars, so we certainly know how to drive manual. I can't tell you how many times we said "aren't we glad we rented an automatic?" Yes, on a straight road manual is no problem. But trying to navigate a roundabout (to the left, not the right) merging traffic, reading signs, remembering to signal - it was nice to not also have to shift. Several times when the other car had to back up to allow us passage, they forgot to shift and had to restart.

I also would like to recommend Enterprise in Limerick. (haven't read enough of your posts to know your plans). We trained from Dublin to LImerick (via Limerick Junction) and Enterprise met us at the station. We had a wonderful experience with them, the car and then returned the car to Dublin Airport before flying out. Bought every penny of insurance they would sell us so we didn't have to stress over our car - this was a no-brainer after the car we were supposed to get was returned "greatly damaged". yikes.

Thanks to all for the great tips and input I appreciate the many points of view
Caroline