One night in Wexford or West Cork?

Have you ever driven in Ireland before?

Do you always listen to screaming friends telling what to do?

Stick with your plans, spend your first night in Wexford, then make your way to Kenmare ( Kenmore is in the U.K.). the next morning.

Don’t rush. Seeing Eire is about slowing down, especially for sheep, lories, and bicyclists. Unless on the major freeways the roads you will travel on will be smaller, you’ll be driving on the LEFT side and you’ll need to have a good map or GPS. Allow yourself more time to get where you are going.

Awesome! I just want tot make sure I am booking the best stops and no I have never been. I am soo excited!

I agree with Claudia about taking it slow, especially your first day after a long overnight flight.
Suggest staying somewhere close to the monastic site at Glendalough for your overnighter in Wexford. With an early start the next day you could visit the place before the day trippers start to arrive at 9:30 - when the visitor center opens. The site itself is always open so by arriving early you'll have it all to yourselves.
A good way to get there from Dublin is to take the scenic Military Road thru the Sally Gap (the R115 on the map). It's one of the prettiest drives in Ireland on a sunny day, with lots of pullouts and potential stops along the way. Note, however, that it is one of those narrow rural roads that Ireland is famous for, shrinking down to a single lane in places which means you may need to pull over occasionally to allow opposing traffic to pass - really no big deal but it does recalibrate your startle reflex the first few times if you're not familiar with local rules of the road.
Not sure what the attraction is in West Cork. Personally I'd devote most of my time to exploring the sights in Dingle and Kerry and, time permitting, a drive thru the beautiful and uncrowded Beara Peninsula. Maybe that's what your friends were referring to as "West Cork" .

Have you read the RS Ireland Guidebook?

If no you should.

You said reserving best spots. I wondered why you choose Wexford? Wouldn’t be on my top 10 of first overnights in Ireland. We’re you merely looking at a map?

Personally I’d either drive through Glendalough and then the Sally Gap as noted above (it’s gorgeous) or stay the night in the smaller Carlow.

Yes I was looking at a map and also an article that listed it in top places to stay. I’ll check out Glendalough and Carlow. Those are two separate areas? Actually my family from fevers tins ago were from county Carlow. It’s it too late for me to cancel hotel in Wexford and switch it up. I love the sea though.

Also you mentioned Dingle. I have a night there heading in from Gap of Dunloe next day heading to Doolin via cliffs of moher. Do you have any Dingle suggestions?

The headliner in Dingle is Slea Head drive, which circles the end of the peninsula and features spectacular seascapes everywhere you look. It's only about 25 miles long, so do take your time and meander - stopping wherever the spirit moves you. The pier at Dunquin is a good photo op and if you walk down to the bottom you'll see some currachs - the wooden framed, canvas (used to be skin) covered boats that are still used by the local fishermen. There's a cute little tea house a little further along that may be open in January.
For something completely different head over to the village of Anascaul where you'll find the South Pole Inn, established back around 1920 by Tom Crean, an antarctic explorer who was a member of the Shackleton expedition of 1914. His various adventures are highlighted by old photos and other descriptive material. It seems to be a museum that doubles as a pub ... or maybe it's the other way around.
And there's Inch beach just down the road - one of the broadest stretches of sand in all of Ireland - and which was featured in the old David Lean film "Ryan's Daughter".
If you can tear your gaze and your camera away from the seascapes and look inland you can see a pronounced line of demarkation that seperates the working farms of today from those higher up which are the remnants of the last planting of 1848. The potato crop rotted in the ground during the famine and the residents either starved or emigrated, and the fields have never been reclaimed to this day.

wow such great tips. I printed that out. thanks!

That’s great advice Keith! Good point . I’ll check out Wicklow but I think two hours would be ok hopefully and bring us closer toward kenmare where we stay night too. Thanks!