Getting the car at the airport is good. Our first trip in Ireland we picked up a car at a hotel downtown, and I still have no idea how we got out of Dublin.

Driving in Ireland is very different from driving in the US, not only because of driving on the left. The roads are narrower, and often don't bypass towns. So you average maybe 30 to 35 mph instead of, well, 65 or 70, and so you can't really make good time from point to point. And it's very tiring, because things that you just do without thinking you now have to think about. If you rent a manual transmission, it's even more tiring, because you really have to concentrate.

What we try to do is book accommodations within walking distance of a town, so we don't have to drive to dinner. It's really not a good idea to drink and drive when your neural pathways are scrambled by driving on the left, and you can avoid that if you get accommodations close to town.

So my suggestion would be to cut a third or so out of your itinerary, or maybe half. Just come back another time to do the other half.