My husband and I spent 8 days in Ireland in Oct 2016. This is truly a beautiful place. We decided to chart our own path and rented a car. If you do this - listen to all the advice out online! Smaller the car the better, they drive primarily manual, roads are narrow and speedy, and they drive on the left 🙂 We toured mostly the southern parts of Ireland and then we took a train to Belfast in Northern Ireland. Dublin ->Kilkenny ->Killarney -> Galway ->Dublin -> Belfast. We toured so many castles, churches, and other great standards like Cliffs of Moher, Ring of Kerry, and Guinness Storehouse! I'm happy to answer any questions you have or give you my perspective on visiting certain towns.