I don't want to go to Dingle

How about Roundstone or Clifden in Co. Galway? Both are in the beautiful Connemara region but remote enough that they aren't as often visited as Dingle.

Try Sligo-definitely a working class town but with lots of places to see-ocean, mountains,ruins,Drumcliff etc.

Dundalk or Trim for authentic, working class towns but visiting those places would be kind of like going to the Bay Area and choosing to stay in Hayward.

Clifden is a nice, less touristy town that might fit your bill. If I may though- Ireland is extremely tourist centric, what I mean is that most of the sights are going to have a lot of tourists- they are justifiably popular. Ireland today is a touristy place- not to say that one can not find local hangouts. The north (Sligo, Donegal) is a good start, as are some places in the remote West. You can still hear Gaelic spoken in those places. I guess what I am saying is that on any trip you will have to mix the touristy with the local scene. I live in Florida, which lets all be honest is probably the most touristy state in the Union. However, I would not dream of telling a first time visitor not to go to the theme parks, the beaches, and maybe Kennedy Space Center. Tampa, where I live, is a not so touristy town, but we also do not have much to offer a first time visitor (although a repeat Florida trip would have a lot to see here with museums, riverwalk, aquarium, etc) I hope that this makes sense. Go to the tourist spots otherwise you will miss out on some of the best Ireland has to offer, but also get off the paved road and brush up on your Gaelic!

And here you've already found the problem with some of Rick's "back doors"! They don't stay that way after they've been in his books. So you could list almost any smaller town that he lists in your concern. Most of what I liked about Dingle wasn't the town itself, but the bike ride around the peninsula. It was exhausting and gorgeous. But, to me, the town wasn't discernible from any other....Like others have said, though, you can either skip the tourists and the sights or just suck it up and do it. The town of Dingle isn't irreplaceable, it's not something you'd regret not seeing on a trip to Ireland. But seeing things like the Cliffs is a definite, like going to Paris and having to see the Eiffel tower.

In spite of the tourists I think a full day exploring the Dingle Peninsula is a great day and not to be missed.