ireland

Because to go anti-clockwise would be to go backwards?

Ireland is still there even if you travel counter-clockwise. I'm not sure "all" the tours go clockwise but I'm not surprised if they do. I know Rick's Ireland book does show the 3 week ininerary as a clockwise trip out of Dublin. Many people here will fly in or out of Shannon. Sometimes it's cheaper than Dublin and sometimes Dublin is cheaper. Ireland is a great place to tour on your own. It's relatively compact. It is full of beautiful, historical sites. The country is beautiful. The people are extremely friendly and helpful. Crime exists but not anywhere near what we in the US would usually expect in our own cities. Everyone speaks English.

I was so overwhelmed by all there is to see and do in Ireland that I had to break my visit up into two trips in two separate summers. On the first trip, we arrived in Dublin and headed to Northern Ireland and Donegal, then we came back down to the east, and then back up to Dublin. Crazy, but it worked. On the second trip, we arrived in Shannon, headed south (Cork, Kinsale, Cobh), went west (Dingle and Galway) and then departed from Shannon. I guess the only part of Ireland I haven't seen is the central region, which I think a lot of people miss. Ireland is easier to get around in than people realize.

Tours in the northern hemisphere move clockwise. Tours in the southern hemisphere move counter-clockwise. (just kidding)

I dared to do a trip in and out of Dublin going North first in a counter-clockwise direction... worked out fine! Do what makes sense for you based on what you want to see.

Just returned from 23 days in Ireland and we followed a modified version of Rick's clockwise 3 week itinerary. It worked great. The only comment I recall from Rick's book is that traveling the Ring of Kerry clockwise (opposite from tour bus direction) is preferable. Flip a coin!!

Why the clockwise direction? Who knows? But why does it matter? Just go the other way. There is no reason why you can't, unless you want an organized tour and they all go the other way. But even on an organized tour, does it really matter which order you see things in?