Ireland, but not by car!

It is possible but it will be more difficult and probably limit what you can see. There are decent train lines in Ireland but they tend to go to and from Dublin. You will probably find that you go through Dublin several times if you travel mostly by train. Bus service is pretty good to many cities and often the only way to get to many smaller towns and villages. The other approach is to go between the larger cities and take day tours from there. This would be a good way to see the Boyne Valley (Newgrange/Knowth and more) and Glendalough from Dublin. Galway has tours also (Aran Islands, Connemerra and probably others). You'll need to plan your trip more carefully unless you just want to go where the next bus is going. Check the Irish on line train and bus schedules and see what you can put together. Some people here swear by public transportation in Ireland but it's probably got the worst system in Western Europe.

Ken, Are you sure its not "swear at" public transportation in Ireland?

It has been a while since I checked, and November may be different than the "high season", but at one time there were private bus lines that went between most of the popular spots. Some of them were even sort of a hop-on/hop-off arrangement, you bought a pass and were able to get on and off anywhere along the route. Doing a very brief search, I think it was Paddywagon tours that I looked at. Can't say that they operate the same way, but this and other similar options may be worth looking at.

Your reasons for not wanting to drive are your own. Public transportation by bus is extensive. By train is less so, except in the east (though there are trains to get you to the west). You can plan out your trip with the journey planner at www.buseireann.ie. If you are based in larger cities, you can find day trips to the outlying scenic spots.

"The other approach is to go between the larger cities and take day tours from there." That's exactly what we did.
Debbie, we refused to drive over there as well. It wasn't worth it to us. We enjoyed our trip immensely without having a car. There are two camps on this website: those who are strong advocates of driving in the British Isles and those who have no desire to (I'm in that camp). We went from Dublin to Galway, to the Antrim Coast, to Belfast, to Edinburgh and back to Dublin and didn't drive at all. We didn't go to Dingle because of the amount of time it would have taken via public transport. But we saw our fair share of stunning beauty in all the places we went. We took a day tour out of Galway to see the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. We took a day tour out of Edinburgh to see the Highlands and Loch Ness. Anyway, I'd be happy to email you what our itinerary was and how we got from Point A to Point B... It can be done!

I just returned in May from a three week trip to Ireland and for the first time I did not rent a car and I did not miss it at all. I went by train from Dublin to Carrick-on-Shannon and then two days later on to Sligo . Took the bus from Sligo to Donegal town and then on to Ardara for the music festival. Took the bus on to Derry and then took a taxi to Greencastle. It was a bank holiday Monday and the Lough Swilly bus that goes to Greencastle was not running so I had to take a taxi. Went from Greencastle to Derry and then took the train from Derry to Belfast,great scenic ride, and then back to Dublin by train. Met some really interesting people while taking the bus and train and it is different listening to an elderly lady and the bus driver conversing in Irish. I hired a taxi in several of the smaller towns to take me to places I wanted to visit. Cost was about 25 Euro per hour for just myself-if you had more than one person the per person cost would be quite reasonable. The cost of using taxi's and hiring a local guide on two different occasions was about the same as a weeks rental of a car. The taxi drivers make great guides as they about everyone and everything in their area.