We drove through Ireland. I heartily recommend it. The most memorable parts of our ten-day trip weren't planned and we experienced because we were in a car. We found a castle on farmer's land and were the only people they saw that day! We got "stuck" behind a heard of cattle getting moved to another pasture, which caused us to spend an hour talking with a farmer who had hands the size of Shrek. He really was knowledgeable about baseball and the Dodgers, in particular. We (and 14,000-ish other fans) saw a Gaelic football playoff game. These events all came about because we were just kind of driving around. (The football game was from a tip by our accommodation's hostess.)
I relied heavily on this forum and the website for planning. We had three adult children with us -- so I got a larger car, but it was a tight fit - for passengers and the car on the road. Generally, we'd drive from one two-night accommodation to another, and on the way make one or two stops. Then the full day we'd be off for some adventure. BTW, our kids LOVED the trip -- and because cell service was minimal in many places, we were "present" with each other. That was a great present, too!
We traveled by ferry from Wales to Dublin. We spent a couple of nights in Dublin and that was plenty for us. Trinity, the Book of Kells (I read the library is getting a makeover, so don't know what's up with that), Temple Bar, Guinness, Jameson's. Our daughter did the catacombs and enjoyed it. Lots of fun!
We picked up a car at the airport. You're much more likely to get a wide range of choices there and cheaper rates. I took a cab there, and drove back into town to pick everyone (and the luggage) up, and then headed out. Driving was easy -- but for the occasional on-coming buses that can cause you to soil yourself -- or at least fear for your driver's side mirror. The car rental place "forced" us to take the additional insurance. They didn't want to hear about my credit card coverage or the extra coverage I have from our own insurance company here at home. The car took a ding while we were at lunch one day, and their coverage STILL wasn't enough, so keep that in mind.
We drove to Rock of Cashel form Dublin, where we also enjoyed lunch. It was a slate gray skies, rainy, perfect Irish day. Then we went down to Cork and spent a couple of nights there, with a day trip to Cobh.
Based on advice from many, we passed on the Blarney Stone. But definitely DO make the trip around Ring of Kerry (take Rick''s advice about when to start and which direction to go). The Derry Peninsula! Excellent. Cliffs of Mohar --- don't miss. Also - because we had a car, we found a farmer's access to the cliffs. He charged us less to park and chatted with us about all kinds of things, and gave us a tip for lunch.
We spent a couple of nights in Galway. It was fine, but I'd pass on Galway -- and stay outside the city if you must be near there. We did a day trip to Mayo and Cong Abbey from there. Worth it.
As the trip wound down, we drove from Galway to Newgrange in one shot... Plan ahead for booking on that, though. If you're like me you'll love it. It predates the pyramids and Stonehenge. (And on the winter solstice they live stream from inside the mound hoping for enough sunlight. It was a miss this past year.) From Newgrange we drove to the airport hotel in Dublin for our flight out the next morning (and turned the car in that night).
FYI, you clear US customs in Dublin. That was very convenient. And if you've got Global Entry, whoosh! You're through in a second.
Have a great trip! You'll love it.
