I really enjoyed the food and service on EI. They were better than or equal to the international business products from CO and AA. Maybe my upcoming BA flight in Club World in a 747 will change my frame of reference. I've read some mixed reviews on BA also.
Driving in Ireland was surprisingly easy. I didn't drive in Dublin because I read that traffic and parking were difficult. Most of the sights are within easy walking distance, so a car is unnecessry. Driving on the left seemed natural with a right hand drive car and with all the other traffic doing so. The worst thing I always did was go to the passenger's left side door when getting in to drive.
I purchased auto insurance thru the rental company (Hertz). I think it was about $200 for a week. The actual car rental was about the same price, so yeah the insurance is somewhat of a racket. I checked a little with my auto insurance and credit card. Coverage seemed iffy, so better safe than sorry. To be honest I didn't research this as much as I should have.