My wife and I followed the same itinerary and it worked out beautifully (we also explored the Aillwee Cave on the edge of the Burren and highly recommend it!). We had a blast at the Dunguaire banquet and are confident that you and your family will as well.
As far as accommodations, we stayed at a wonderful B & B in Galway City, which is around a 30-40 minute drive and is North and just slightly West. It is the opposite of your preferred direction, but the areas around Galway Bay, Claddagh, and Salthill and absolutely breathtaking, time permitting. Unfortunately the proprietors of our B & B have since retired, so I’m not much help there, but we did hear good things about a few of the other B & B’s in that area from other guests at the banquet.