DW and I just got back from 3 really nice weeks in Ireland. Here are a few observations, in order of our sequence of destinations.
First I should note that Aer Lingus seems to be having problems with online check-in. I did so before we left (from Boston Logan), but had to go to a counter at the gate to get the thin cardboard boarding passes, as online boarding passes were not accepted. Coming back, I was unable to check in online at all, and had to go to a counter at Dublin Airport (there was literally no one in line). No problems with AL otherwise, in fact the amount and quality of food they offered seemed like a return to air service of years ago.
Dublin was very cool of course. We stayed at the Radisson Blu, which was both a bit pricier and more generic-international than our usual, but I was warned by a friend who lives in Dublin that the hotel I had booked north of the Liffey was not in a particularly good area, and by the time I changed there was not a lot of choice. But the RB was very nice, and introduced us to a sequence of amazing breakfast buffets that would continue for the whole trip.
One day we took a tour with Michael Fox of Boyne Valley Tours. This was amazing, and right up there with the most memorable days of the trip. We went first to Newgrange, where claustrophobia kept me (but not DW) out of the interior chamber. When Michael heard this, he arranged on the fly for us to go to another passage tomb with a much larger entrance. This one, while administered by the State, is on private land, and to get in you need to request the key from the family that owns the land. Michael called ahead, and when we got to the house, there was a 93 YO man in an absolutely immaculate suit standing by the side of the road with his walker, holding the key so he could just hand it in through the window. This dear old man absolutely radiated good will and happiness, I've never seen anything like it. Wish I'd had the presence of mind for a photo, but no. That day we also saw (with expert, humorous, genial commentary) the Hill of Tara, Mellifont Abbey, Monasterboice, and sites pertaining to the Battle of the Boyne. I recommend Michael Fox very highly. (BTW, our experience with Michael and the old man set the tone for almost all of our encounters with the Irish people. We were bowled over by their warmth and genuine friendliness, from greetings on the street, to strangers holding a pub door so I would not spill beer while going outside, to helping with directions and much more.)
After a few days in Dublin, we picked up our Sixt rental car at the airport, so as to minimize traffic getting away from Dublin. No problems picking up, except for slight nickel-and-diming for miscellaneous insurance that was not covered by our CDW from AutoEurope, which we used to arrange the rental. We then drove to Kilkenny by way of Russborough House. We thought the latter was worth seeing, but getting to it was my first experience of the Irish L (local) roads, which can be hair-raising to an American. The M and N roads are generally easy driving, and the R roads often pretty good, though with occasional extraordinary optimism about speed limits on very curvy sections; but the L roads. . . Still, we made it, and the Irish live with them, so a lot of the alarm US drivers may (do) feel must be exaggerated.
Next stop, Kilkenny