Sorry, I'm late to the dance as always. I've been to Ireland in January and in February, and while it is indeed nippy, it's a lot milder most of the time than Boston or Chicago. And you have the advantage that anything you want to do tourist-wise you will have to yourself, since most people don't think of vacationing there in the offseason. Additionally, cottage rentals can be had for between 200-300 of those funny dollar-like common-market scrip bills/week.

Cheers,
Brian