Driving, vertigo, age

Don't assume that because one company has this policy that they all will ask for that document or limit use after 75.

My father was renting cars into his 80's - including in England and Italy. It is worth checking around and seeing what else is available.

Do either of you have medically induced vertigo, or is it all just the cliffs and unconscious fears? Low blood pressure?

And before you proceed with your plans to drive please please consider the safety of others on the road. Just because you may be able to circumvent the system - the system is in place for the safety of EVERYONE on the road.

"Are you possibly open to hiring a driver for some segments of your trip?"

Paul Brown is a very well-regarded driver/guide in the Ring/Kerry and Beara Peninsula area. (We had to cancel our reservation due to a fall experienced by my wife, but we hope to reschedule on a return trip.) We did have a rental car but wanted a relaxed drive on the ROK with a professional behind the wheel.

http://www.kenmaretaxitours.com/about-us.html

His 100% 5-star rating on TripAdvisor was all the encouragement we needed. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g211860-d7648418-Reviews-Browns_Taxi_Tours-Kenmare_County_Kerry.html He will certainly tailor a trip to suit your preferences.

Thanks for these replies. To clarify, my husband drives all the time here at home and has a good safe driving record. When we go on a trip of more than, say, 100 miles we usually trade off driving. So it's not as if I'm trying to put behind the wheel in Ireland an old geezer who is unsafe at any speed.

Most providers have the same requirement for renting in Ireland if you're over 75 years of age. This business of providing it 5 working days in advance of the rental sounds like something unique to one particular company. Most of the others I've looked at simply require you to have the documentation in hand, ie with you at check in in case you're asked for it.
It's not as complicated as it sounds: just need a letter from your doctor stating that you're generally in good health, and one from your insurance company confirming that you're covered (in the US anyway) and that you've been accident free for the past 5 years.
And as was stated previously, do check with the company directly to sort out any issues or questions you may have to avoid any surprises (or disappointment) when you show up at the counter.

Also, driving in Ireland is generally pretty mellow. You're unlikely to experience anything remotely like the cliffside drives you reference... ie sheer dropoffs, etc. The main concern for many of us is the narrowness of some of the rural roads (the L and R roads on the map), which may require one of the approaching drivers to pull over to let the other pass. No big deal but it does take some getting used to.

how would your doctor really know if you are fit to drive

Your doctor should know if there are any medical conditions that might impact his or your ability to drive. Vision, loss of mental capacity, etc. that are not necessarily a part of growing old but can be of impact to anyone. That is what they are wanting to know. This is not a request for him to pass an actual driving test to get a license where knowledge of driving laws are tested, although going through a driver manual from Ireland to learn some of the differences between Irish rules and laws and those of where you live would be a very good thing for anyone to do. For example, due to a recently developed medical condition I cannot longer drive vehicles over a certain size and passenger capacity. Not that I would ever rent one like that but there is that issue. My license was changed from commercial to regular because of this. That is the type of info they want.

Having the documentation with you, along with your International Driver's Permit, should be all you need.

IDP not needed in Ireland for US drivers.

It has been at least 15 years since I was able to pass the vision test required for a DC driver's license. Our standards may be stricter than average; I'm guessing that the requirement is that the driver be no worse than 20/40 in each eye. (My good eye is corrected to better than that but my bad eye is not.) In order to renew my license, I have to get my eye doctor to fill out a form, giving my visual acuity and stating that I am OK to drive. There's a similar form for medical conditions that might make driving questionable; that one I've never looked at.

Thanks again for the information and advice. I'm hoping perhaps for some thoughts on my last paragraph, though maybe I should post it as a separate topic:

We know we want to visit the northwest as there's a family connection in County Sligo. We'll either fly in & out of Shannon or else open jaw Shannon & Dublin. We thought we'd like to spend most of our time seeing Connemara and Donegal. We enjoy history (especially Viking sites -- Fermanagh Lakelands?), castles, towns with historic/traditional architecture, and just about any type of museum. Is Belleek worth a stop for someone who appreciates the delicate tableware the town is famous for? Are there any hidden gems in this area we should know about? The RS guide doesn't provide much detail for the northwestern quarter of the island, so I'd be glad for any advice!

The area around Sligo has the heaviest concentration of megalithic sites in Ireland ... if not all of Europe, with the highlights being Carrowmore and Queen Maeve's grave atop Knocknarea - both only a 15 minute drive out of town. Access to both will require some walking so bring your waterproofs if you want to do any of the hikes. There are dolmans and passage tombs all over the place as you drive around. Suggest getting an Ordnance Survey Map for the area as your guide.
If you want to explore a very pretty part of Donegal I suggest driving the southern part of the N56 around to the cliffs at Slieve League - much more dramatic, and much less crowded, than the Cliffs of Moher. Another highlight for us was Glencolumbkille. There's a Folk Village there that's quaint but beautiful, and the little cafe serves terrific meals. It's one of the famous Irish R roads however, which means it'll be quite narrow in places so be ready for that. A little further north is Glenveagh National Park. The Manor House there is worth a stop - it was the scene of the last of the great land evictions around 1861, and there's a very pretty walk along the Lough.
We've had good luck with "Back Roads Ireland" by DK publishing. As the name implies it features off the beaten path adventures that other guides never get around to. Can probably find used copies on Amazon for a few dollars.
As you may be aware Fermanagh is in Northern Ireland - different currency, highway signage in miles versus kms., etc.
Many here like Westport as a base for exploring Connemara, though our personal preference is Clifden. Another off the beaten path excursion would be to catch the ferry from the village of Cleggan out to the island of Inishbofin if it's a sunny day. There's always the ferry out to the Aran Islands too. Another hidden little gem is the short side trip to the Doolough Memorial near the village of Delphi. There's not much there except the memorial, but after you do a google search of what happened there it may pique you interest in visiting the place. The little valley where it's located is, for us, one of the most evocative places in Ireland.

Thanks so much for these suggestions! Yes, we were planning to venture into Northern Ireland for part of our itinerary.

Question: "driving the southern part of the N56 around to the cliffs at Slieve League" -- is that one of these vertigo-inducing drives with precipitous dropoffs and hairpin turns? I've looked at the map greatly magnified to get a sense of curves & proximity to the water, and it doesn't look too bad. It seems similar to drives we've done in Scotland that didn't bother us.

(The really memorable drive we did not enjoy was the Feather River Canyon in northern California, as a point of comparison. A family member who is a geologist and drives a stick shift raved about how terrific it was -- we did not concur!)

No, the road travels to the cliffs ... not along the cliffs. As mentioned before, I'm not aware of anything remotely like the Feather River Canyon Drive.
For a reasonably good preview of the general sight picture of the roads take a look at the street view feature on Google maps. Pretty good detail there - ie they cover the R roads and even many of the even more narrow L roads. That'll give you a pretty good idea of what you're in for. There's nothing particularly scary about the drive - it's gorgeous.

Oh, that's really good news! Thanks for explaining that the road travels to the cliffs, not along the edge. When we get there, my dear husband may not want to look -- but it sounds like the drive itself, with lovely scenery, is something we would enjoy!

Not much to ad to Roberts FANTASTIC reply......but just to reassure.....I'm very bad with heights and nothing in the Slieve League area was a problem for driving. I'm not one to walk up to the cliff edge either so understand .... but driving is not a problem. There are very narrow roads but those are easy to navigate once you get the routine down. Oh....and the Errigal area in Donegal we loved.....So beautiful. Donegal is a gem. And second Slieve League being light years better than the Cliffs of Moher.

Thanks, ewewoolknit! I'm getting more enthusiastic about our trip!

Another driving tip:
we learned after a few days touring around the Ring/Kerry that if you encounter a large bus coming toward you, when you slow down to creep by, the driver of the bus is generally giving you helpful hand signals for getting properly aligned. This was more useful than trying to judge the distances between us and the rock wall on the left and the bus on the right. The drivers know the roads and are very courteous in these situations.

Following! Planning to hit the north and northwest areas on my third trip!

Thanks, RCA! I do remember that in Scotland the bus drivers, similarly, were courteous and helpful, demonstrating that they knew the roads like the back of their hand.

Diveloonie, do you think we should start a separate thread about interesting/beautiful places to see in the northwest?