My 16 y/o granddaughter and I will be spending about 10 days in Ireland, arriving 6/28. It’s her first trip. We’ll be without a car so plan on train to Belfast, then a day or so in Dublin before taking the train to Cork. We have tickets to see Christy Moore (a bucket-list item for me) on July 6th. We plan on staying in Cork and taking public transport to Cobh, Kinsale, and Clonakilty for day trips. For the most part we’d like to stay away from big crowds. However, it’s appearing for a more well-rounded visit we’re going to have to join an organized tour to Dingle or County Clare. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Clare so am thinking Dingle. Has anyone taken one of the Paddywagon Tours? There are several out of Cork. Anyone have any other suggestions? Though we’d prefer staying in a more rural area, am I correct in thinking since we’ll need public transport it’s best to stay in Cork?
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Bus service through Co Cork & Kerry is pretty good but not comprehensive. If you prefer a more rural area-- or, more likely with public transit, a small town or village-- you can find something on a bus route, but your ability to get around without a car will be pretty limited.
You can easily reach Cobh and Kinsale from the city. As a matter of fact, there's now a great boat tour that runs from the Cork docks to Cobh that I took last summer, and then you can take the train back. https://www.oceanescapes.ie/cork-cobh-connect BTW, the train station is just a few blocks from Greens Restaurant, which is fantastic, and Sin É, a fun pub that has good music.
I've heard positive things about Paddywagon (despite the obnoxious name) but have no first hand experience with them.
In my opinion, Cork City is a good jumping off point for day trips & taking a night or 2 here & there in the southwest if you mostly want to use buses. The Parnell bus station is in the city center and will connect you to almost everywhere. Having said that, having a car, even for just a few days, will give you access to some sites you otherwise cannot reach, and will also get you to some locations much more quickly. For example, Ballymaloe House is under an hour's drive from Cork, but took me about 2 hours bus+taxi to reach. I very much recommend driving to Clonakilty unless you're on a tour, or you won't be able to get out of the center of town very easily.
The 226 bus runs frequently from the city center south to Cork Airport, where you can rent a car & drive west (or wherever) without having to deal with the worst of city traffic. As roundabout as this seems, I'll often fly into Shannon, take the bus to Cork to see family & work, and only get a car if I want to get out of town for a day or two. So, in, say, a five day trip, I'll go to a different airport from the one I flew into and get a car for two days.
If you go to Dingle, I cannot recommend enough the Sciúird Archaeology Tour which I heard about through Rick Steves! Fascinating, well run, just a treasure of a tour.
I have a soft spot for Cork City, but I understand why some people pass it by-- in many ways, Cork today reminds me of the very early Celtic Tiger days in Dublin, when the money started to come in but the city was still kind of gritty. If you do stay there, you'll find some of the best restaurants in Ireland. The Crawford Gallery and the Honan Chapel are also special. Hope you enjoy your trip!