I've done a good 7-8 Ireland trips over the years. I still remember taking my dad and sister over, renting a car on arrival, and heading west and ending up to Sligo a few hours after landing.

Do consider a drive out west, and maybe just the last night in Dublin. It's quite an easy country to drive. Your only traffic challenge will be getting in and out of Dublin, as it can get congested depending what route you take, but it won't be anything worse than the Caldecott Tunnel here during morning commute.

The west of Ireland is just meant to be driven. I like Galway, a university town with lots of pubs and live music (with the rugged Burren nearby, and the Aaran Isles which can be done as a day trip), and for small town Ireland I like Doolin, which has 3 pubs with music each night (Dingle would be a larger town option). I've always bought my sweaters from woolen mill stores in Killarney (Quill's Woolen Market), though my sister liked the big warehouse store in Blarney, and you have Galway Crytal and Royal Tara china in Galway. There's even a woolen store in Sneem, on the Ring of Kerry, should you do that route.

If you want to get a head start on jewelry, I've bought Claddagh rings at this store in Galway that has a website before: http://www.fallers.com/