Opinions and Advice for 14 day Ireland trip

While I see this as a bit rushed, it is doable if you realize you will be doing a LOT of driving. You are basically driving around the whole island in two weeks. RS suggests doing this in three weeks.
For a castle recommendation, there is Ashford Castle in Cong, it gets very high marks though I have not stayed there yet myself.
It also has a hawk walk that is highly praised on this forum.
For that extra night, I would suggest county Mayo. The Connemara region was so beautiful (although it all is really)
Enjoy your trip!

Your pace is doable but not the best way to experience Ireland. You will drive a ton, miss things due to weather and tick off items on an itinerary rather than allowing time for lingering, interacting with the amazing Irish people and exploring and finding your own hidden gems.

Many of the spots you listed could easily accomodate a week's visit....a couple nights will be skimming the surface and bypassing treasures. Can you do it that way - sure. We did first time and we saw a lot, connected with little in a deep way, had fun but ended it tired and unsatisfied overall.

We are in Ireland now and picked out one spot for a week ....for each of our three weeks. We had the time to get to know and help a baker in Dunquin, sit in on an archaeological dig learning huge amounts of real Irish history just from talking to a local at a gas station and getting a tip which happens all the time...... (not racing around to utterly ridiculous sites like the ludicrous Blarney Stone - on Rick Steves top ten tourist traps in Europe for very good reason), we lingered for a full incredible day on Great Blasket island in no rush and experienced one of the great days of my life, on the Beara peninsula got invited to a Ceili at a local gathering and had great fun with the warm generous locals. That and many amazing unscripted adventures including today a walk through an insane gorse covered sea side landscape recommended by a local we met. Zero of these and other magical things would have happened if we were flying around trying to see everything spending a ton of time in a car. Are we missing some itinerary sites ? Sure.....So what.....we are having an infinitely richer time.

So I would urge you to consider trimming two or three stops.....linger and explore real Ireland....Not tourist list Ireland. Seriously cut down drive time. I love Irish driving....but It demands attention and is not at all meant for sightseeing from the drivers spot. The incredibly fulfilling reward is to get to know, experience and immerse yourself in Ireland's magical history, real culture and incredible people.....that can't happen from a car or a series of super quick visits to an area.

You really are planning to drive all over! Personally, I would not attempt this itinerary, it's too much driving, and doesn't allow a lot of time to stop and see things. The places you plan to stop at will change how far you will get each day as you may want to spend several hours at one location once you get there. Are you planning to drive from Dublin straight to Kinsale? Kinsale is a great small town, but I'm not sure you need two nights there. Although it is best to try to avoid one night stands some places do only require one. From Dublin there are many places you could stop as you head south. Glendalough, Kilkenny, Cashel would be three that I would suggest. You appear to be driving from Kinsale straight to Dingle without stopping, also, but there are many things to see around Killarney. You could spend a whole day just in the national park so you may want to add a stop in there. Dingle is also quite small so I'm not sure you need three nights there. The Galway area has a lot to see and do, also, so you may want to add a day there, especially if you want to use a day to take a ferry out to the Aran Islands. Personally, I would leave the northern section off for this trip and use those days to extend your time near Galway or down south. But, I think before deciding exactly where you want to sleep for the night you should first decide what you want to see, and how much time it will take to see it, then plan your room for the night.

We visit Ireland twice a year and always drive around the whole Island in 2 weeks. Sometimes staying in one place too long can be less than idea. I love the Northern Ireland coast, and also Dingle. I read in this forum that driving too much is not fun, but I like road trips and appreciate seeing things along the way. Many times we have guests that have not been to Ireland before and we show them around, go on walks & hikes here & there, visit the main touristy places and go to pubs at night, visit relatives and they seem to think its all good. So, depends on the type of person you are as to what you want. I love to slow down and talk with locals, but I do like to move around the Island and visit different places. So....its nice everyone is different!

Just an FYI...Ashford Castle accommodations in the castle itself is very expensive! My husband & I thought it would be cool to stay there, but the price tag was close to $750/night!! The Lodge at Ashford is about a third of the cost. We decided to just spend the day on the castle grounds and indulge ourselves with the Hawk Walk & Afternoon Tea.
Have fun!!

Thanks for all the great feedback! You guys are great. I’m a bit late responding so have combined my responses.

We’ve decided to add a few more days to our travel timeframe without adding additional destinations so we can have a bit of down time.

Thanks for the info on Ashford Castle. I agree, we will have to pass on $750/night accommodations!

Yep! all set for driving on the left side of the road and the right side of the car!

We’ve traveled at this pace in the past as well as the relaxing, soak it all in pace. I love both! We are being very choosy and limiting the sights we want to see to balance it all out. I have planned stops between each destination and am allowing for a chill day here and there to enjoy the towns, pubs and music.

Thanks again for all your feedback.