Itinerary Advice - First Trip to Ireland

Dublin and Galway for sure, Dingle too if you can.

I respectfully disagree. I'd skip Galway. Driving in Ireland can be a little difficult - we went with it straight away and were fine, but other recommend not picking up your rental car on day one Will you be able to sleep on the plane? If so, I'd go:

9/18 - drive to Cliffs of Moher, stay in Doolin.

9/19 - drive to Dingle
9/20 - Dingle
9/21 - drive to Kilkenny, stopping on the way at the Rock of Cashel. This is a full day so get a good start.
9/22 - stay Kilkenny
9/23 - drive to Dublin via Glendalough
9/24 - Dublin
9/25 - depart from Dublin

My two Euro cents: to keep from spending most of your limited time driving I'd suggest heading straight to Dingle upon arrival at Shannon. Relax there for 2 or 3 days to explore both the town and the peninsula...maybe extending another day or two to explore the nearby Ring of Kerry. Then return to Dublin via the route outlined above. I think that would maximize your enjoyment of western Ireland while minimizing your time spent behind the wheel.

I agree with Robert. If you have a typical early arrival at Shannon, drive through the Burren, look at the Cliffs then head on to Dingle and spend at least a couple of days (and nights, when it's really fun!).
If you haven't read Rick's Ireland guidebook, start there and decide what looks good between Dingle and Dublin.

Thanks for the advice here. Is arriving in Shannon, driving through Burren to check out the cliffs and then on to Dingle a reasonable expectation on the arrival day? That seems like it could be a fair amount of driving, but I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks

I think that's way too much driving for the first day. Plus you may be too tired to enjoy any of it. I think the Cliffs is enough. Save the drive to Dingle for day two. Allow at least three nights in Dingle as it will probably be your favorite place. (It is mine, and I am not alone.). Two nights is enough for Dublin. Ireland is beautiful! Hope you have a great trip.

I think it's way too much driving on the first day, too, particularly if you have never driven on the left before. It is slower and a bit more stressful than you can guess. On our first day, arriving at Shannon, we were through immigration and to the rental car and out by mid-morning. We then drove the six miles to Bunratty Castle, had lunch at the little shopping area across the road, then toured the castle and folk park. We then drove to our first night's B&B in Liscannor, just a five minute drive from the Cliffs of Moher. We opted not to go there at that point (it was early April and the light was fading by then), so we drove to Doolin for dinner, then returned to our B&B for an early bedtime. The next day, we saw the Cliffs and drove through the Burren, then headed south, taking the Tarbert/Killimer ferry to save some driving. Doolin to Dingle by itself is over a four hour drive via the ferry, without allowing time to stop at the cliffs, have lunch, make photo stops, or anything else (and not counting the drive to get from Shannon to the cliffs, which is around an hour, to start with).