Which itinerary sequence would be best?

To see Cliffs of Moher your revised plan is better but it’s a lot of driving smaller roads. We just did Galway-2 nites, Doolin ferry to Inishmore-1 nite, back thru Doolin to Cliffs of Moher on way to Dingle 2-nites (in the middle of a circle driving tour). This was too much driving vs actually seeing things imo.

I suggest leaving out Kinsale and spend your time enjoying Dingle and Galway areas by adding a night to each. Or, do Galway plus farther west like Clifden or Westport. There’s so much to do in Galway and Connemara. Dingle is pretty but it is a tourist scene and it’s so far to drive. The Galway region has so much beauty to offer. Look into the Killary Sheep Farm and the Killary Harbor area—it’s as beautiful as Dingle. Connemara Park is amazing, and there’s so much else we didn’t see.

Driving was exhausting for my son, and he likes to drive. It’s not the left hand driving issue, it’s the narrow, fast speed limit country roadways with no visibility and tricky turnabouts. He had a full time navigator sitting next to him talking him through the turns. with just 8 nights, save yourselves the long drives, you’ll still have plenty of driving!

Are you coming off a transatlantic flight and will you be jet lagged? If so planning on hiring a car and driving to either Kinsale (2.5 + hours) or Dingle (£3+ hours) is not very sensible. You would be better starting off at Galway which is a much shorter drive.

Don’t underestimate driving times in Ireland. They are slow and it will take a lot longer to cover the distances than you might expect.

Also remember 2 nights for Kinsale is only just one and a bit days - not long. ruthewill is making a very valid point suggesting omitting Kinsale from your itinerary.

Galway, Connemara and Mayo are wonderful. You might also have chance of a trip to the Aran islands too. Clifden and the sky Road are well worth time spent. On a good day, the Sky Drive is possibly one of the best short dries in the world. Also don’t miss Roundstone with its harbour, just a few miles from Clifden. Go for a cruise on Killarey Harbour. There is Kylemore Abbey and also think about Cong with its ruined Abbey and the place where the Quiet man starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, was filmed. There is also the hawk walk at Ashford Castle. If you are interested in social history then the National Museum of Country Life near Castlebar is well worth visiting. It has so much information about rural life in Irelanbd over the last one hundred years. Perhaps the most interesting are the videos made in teh 1950s and 60s recording customs. Some of them now seem almost pagan.

On the way to Dingle, you could add in a night in say Doolin (renowned for its pub and music culture) This is Burren country and the limestone scenery is completely different to the rest of Ireland. This deserves a day exploring the area (there are caves to explore, prehistoric remains, a perfumery.as well as the cCliffs of Moher )

Extra time in Dingle would also allow time to see more of Kerry and Killarney National Park.

Thank you soooo much for your thoughts and advice. Yes. We are flying from New York to Shannon, landing at 10:30 am.
Other plans: Aran Islands...Inishmore for the day. Cong...we love the movie The Quiet Man. Blasket Island while in Dingle. We wanted to visit Rock of Cashel, but that may not be possible if we skip Kinsale. Slea Head Dr. (I've read mixed reviews on Ring of Kerry.)
Cliffs of Moher. The Burren.

I've been researching other options tonight thanks to both of your posts. Thanks again!

If you love the Quiet Man movie, then you will love Cong as you can still see many of the places where it was filmed. There is also the Quiet Man Cottage Museum

The ruined Abbey is also well worth a visit and don't miss the Monk's fishing station on the river with a bell to ring to let the kitchen know they had caught a fish...

Ring if Kerry is a lot busier than Slea head - possibly because it is more dramaric scenery. There are lots of other places around Kilarney that are worth visiting - Ross Castle, Mucross Abbey, Muckross Hose and the traditional farms, go for a jaunting car ride along the Gap of Dunloe, go for a cruise on the Killarney lakes, go and see Torc Waterfall.....

Rock of Cashel doesn't really fit into the itinerary as it is the opposite way to everywhere else. However it is about 50 miles from Shannon Airport - say about 90minutes drive, so you could begin with that and spend 1 night there and then head to Galway the next day.

ALTERNATIVELY - it is a good excuse to plan another visit to Ireland and do Rock of Cashel, Kinsale and lots of other places too!

Thank you so much for your input! Instead of spending 3 nights in Dingle and 3 nights in Galway, should we skip Kinsale (2 nights) as mentioned by others, and spend 4 nights in Dingle and 4 nights in Galway? I feel this may be too long for each stay. I've spent so much time (and I enjoy it because I love planning) trying to rearrange our itinerary and not feeling confident in my choices. The more I read, the more I see people doing one night stops at places with sooooo much driving. We definitely want to visit Dingle and Galway. Each day we will take day trips to the various points of interest ....Cong, Aran Islands, Great Blasket Is., Inch Beach, Slea Head Dr., etc.
I'm overthinking, but am feeling less and less confident in my choices. I've planned trips to Italy, Bermuda and Alaska, but the more I read about the choices in beautiful Ireland, the more frustrated I get with myself for not being confident in our itinerary. I have to admit, my husband is a very good driver and we've driven scooters on the left side of the road in Bermuda, but now I'm seeing "the road to divorce" as he drives in Ireland and I'm trying to help him navigate. Lol!