dublin itinereary

Christy,

Are you flying over that day? If so, you'll be jetlagged and so you won't want to kill yourselves the first day.

This isn't a crazy itinerary, but it is quite busy. If you take the tour of Trinity and go see the Book of Kells exhibit (which to me is an absolute must), then you'll be done around noon, assuming the 10 AM start.

You'll need to grab lunch at some point.

Kilmainham is actually not walkable from Trinity. It's a short bus ride away, but you should leave about a 1/2 hour from door to door. I thought Kilmainham was great and would also highly recommend that.

Temple Bar is a nightlife area; I wouldn't go during the day. I'd walk O'Connell St. at night when you have more time.

Guinness is your call. I didn't go; it's awfully pricey for a pint and a view. If you do go, you'll want to go when you go to Kilmainham as it's nearby.

I had a reasonably priced meal at the Brazen Head, which claims to be the oldest pub in Dublin. I wouldn't say it's "non touristy", but I also wouldn't say that it's tacky or anything like that.

I wouldn't add to your list. Better to see your top priorities unhurried than to rush through so you can see something else. If you finish your list, you can always add something on the fly.

Enjoy your trip!

Michael has good suggestions. Because your time is limited making sure you do the things that close to each other at the same time will allow you to see more and be less frazzled. A lot of people will tell you to skip the Guinness storehouse but I really enjoyed it. Though if it's a nice day I might skip it in favor of an after lunch rest in the grass at Phoenix Park. Lots of good pubs, just pick one that looks good to you-many will have menus in the window or on the door. Everything's walkable but the bus will get you there faster. Busses run the route along the Liffy constantly. Definitely wait until evening to see the Temple Bar area. I'm not sure anything in that area could be called entirely non touristy but there are lots of options for eating. Prices are high in Dublin so "reasonable" will be a bit higher than in many other parts of europe.
Enjoy Dublin!

If you can't get into the city center before 10 AM you might find long lines at the Book of Kells at Trinity, what with it being peak tourist season. But you can walk around the campus, anyway. Grafton St and the Temple Bar area are right there, too, and O'Connell St is just across the river -- all very walkable. If you're in Temple Bar during the day, you might try Bad Ass Cafe for pizza for lunch. I'd see O'Connell St during the daytime, so you can see the monuments and the post office. And many shops along there close down fairly early.

Kilmainham Gaol is a good distance off so you'll need to catch a bus or taxi to get there. The tour there takes about 90 minutes, and there is a museum as well, so allow time for that.

The Guinness Storehouse is just a big advertisement, not a demonstration of the brewing process or anything. I wouldn't bother with it, particularly since it costs something like 14 euros.

For dinner you might try Messrs. Maguire's just across the O'Connell St bridge (on the Temple Bar side). It's a large place but it has wonderful character. I like the library room upstairs.

Check the schedules of the "hop-on-hop-off" buses - at least one of them goes to the Gaol and Storehouse, saving you the taxi fare, and also to other sites you mentioned (plus you'll see the city). If you are arriving from the US that day, you'll probably appreciate being driven around - the streets of Dublin can be confusing (change names in the middle, for example) and jet lagged this is quite frustrating (personal experience).

Also, you can take the Airlink bus from the airport (about 30 minutes) - at least one of them will get you very close to the central TI (on Suffolk street) where they can hook you up with hop-on-hop off bus tickets. If you arrive on any day but Sunday they open at 9:00 a.m.

If you want to save $$ on dinner, DON'T eat in Temple Bar. That said, no matter where you eat, you're going to pay more than an average US dinner at an ok restaurant. Things are just more expensive. But it's the experince you're paying for, right?

Nancy makes a good point about crowds at the Book of Kells. You could still see how long the wait is, and if it's very long then you could do something else and return in the afternoon when it should be less crowded.