West and Northern Ireland 8 days any ideas?????

Ancestors from Sligo but I found the area boring and bleak.
Any reason you've chosen this spot to stay? Where are you coming from and going to?

How about staying 20 miles away in Donegal? We stayed at Rossmoremanor.com, just south of Donegal town, lovely B and B, gorgeous views, and easy access to the road to Sligo town. We skipped visiting the town of Sligo, but enjoyed Carrowmore, Carrowkeel, and seeing Yeats grave, just off the Donegal -Sligo road, right below Benbulben. We also drove around the lake (I don't recall the name, but it's the one with the "Lake Isle of Innisfree." ) We did all of this on a day in April, 2012, and felt like we had pretty much exhausted the possibilities of that immediate area. County Donegal, however, was beautiful and had enough attractions to fill several days.

Thanks for the info. We are flying into Dublin (no choice) and renting a car. We visited Ireland last October for 14 days and did the eastern/southern loop but only made it as far as Clifden on the west coast. My 87 year old Mom wants to go back and see the rest of the west and northern Ireland but not Belfast. We only have 10 days total so 8 sightseeing days this time. Any suggestions would be great. My Mom wants to stay at Ashford Castle for a night and see the Cliffs. Other than that, I am open for any thoughts. Thanks,

So did you do Dingle or the Ring of Kerry last time? It seems you ended up north of Galway but still missed the Cliffs of Moher? Did you spend time in Galway last time? Are you doing the Antrim Coast this time? It was absolutely one of my favorite areas. And if you are doing it, Spend a night in Derry, maybe. Derry's walled city was really cool, and we really enjoyed the pubs and restaurants there. Wish we would have had more time to explore Derry further.

thanks. We did 4 nights in Dingle last time. It was perfect. We tried to see the Cliffs last time but there was too much fog. We were leaving the area so missed it totally.
We will check out Derry too. All suggestions appreciated!

My favorite part of Ireland was the 2 days I spent on Inish Mor in the Aran Island just off the coast of Galway. You can rent a bike and tour the island and there is an ancient ring fort near a great B&B (Man of Aran Cottage) close to Kilmurvey Beach. Lots of history and evocative scenery and the people are so friendly. I could have spent a week there!

We stayed in Portrush for 2 nights and spent a day enjoying the sights on the Antrim coast. There were 4 things right on the coast that made for an enjoyable day- Giant's Causeway, Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, Bushmill's brewery, and Dunluce castle. Portrush was a cute little coastal town as well.