12 days, which 4 cities?
 

I originally posted an itinerary where we were going to fly into Shannon, then 2 days in Galway, 2 in Dingle. 3 in Killarney, 2 in Cork and 3 in Dublin. Going in September and after talking with my husband have decided we would rather narrow it down to 4 cities with 3 nights in each. Our last 3 have to be in Dublin, and we are flying into Shannon. So I would love opinions on the best 3 other cities to stay in. I am open minded so I don't have to stick to my original picks. Need to decide soon though as it seems all the hotels are filling up! Thanks in advance!

Hard to answer without knowing your preferences. I liked your original route. If you wanted to shorten the route, Galway or Cork would be candidates. What is the things that you want to see? Are you going to do daytrips from your locations (Moher, Burren, what about Ring of Kerry?) ... Cork would be intersting from a food / restaurant perspective .. As I said, I liked your initial route ... If I had to choose, I would probably drop Cork (did you plan to go to Cashel?) I would make the decision based on what you would like to see and what is important to you.

Killarney 4, Galawy 4 and Dublin 4.

You can do nice day trips from each city.

I would fly into Shannon and then go directly to Killarney for four days, work your way back up the coast to stay in Galway and then go see http://www.aranislands.ie/inis-mor-inishmore/ one day, explore this area and then head to Dublin where you can do great day trips.

Is it a terribly long drive from Shannon to Killarney as we will have had quite a trip over? Also, had heard some nice things about Doolin, Ennis and Westport? If I started in Killarney, would either of those be good options after or before Galway? As for interests, we like good scenery, good music, food, and getting to know the local area. Not much for tours and such. We don't have to see every famous landmark. Our favorite thing to do is get a guide book and go out and explore on our own. Love the pub scene too. I didn't realize September was such a busy season. All the highly rated hotels are pretty booked too! We wanted to change to 3 nights in Galway and 3 in Dingle, which is what started this all, and neither hotel we originally booked can accommodate us. So hotel suggestions welcome as well! Thanks so much!!!

How about this? Fly into Shannon. Galway 3 nights. Killarney 3 nights. Kilkenny 3 nights, or is that too much for Kilkenny? Then Dublin 3 nights?

About 80 miles from Shannon to Killarney. That is why I always do Dublin first.
Doolin, one of my favorite stops but not everyone agrees. Three pubs, good music, ferry to Aran islands.

We are flying into Shannon and out of Dublin so we really need to do Dublin last. Aren't Doolin and Galway very close? Could we see Doolin on a day trip from Galway? In Galway, we are now looking at the Twelve Hotel which is actually in Barna since our original hotel is booked for the third night. Iss Barna far from Galway city and is it a nice area? Sorry for so many questions!

Is three nights too long to stay in Kilkenny? Are there a lot of places in driving distance to see from there? Are we missing out by skipping Dingle or could we see Dingle on a day trip from Galway? Really trying to finalize now. Thank you:)

Barna is pretty well a suburb of Galway, albeit a bit of a hike if you don't want to use a car. I haven't stayed in the Twelve, but am given to understand that it is good. If you want to spend an evening in Galway and take a drink, it's a reasonable taxi trip, one that won't break the bank.

Dingle is not a day-trip from Galway - no way! Did you mean to ask about it as a trip from Killarney? That's doable.

On the map it looks close to Galway. I don't want to miss out on Dingle. Could we hit it on our way to Killarney or would it be better as a day trip. Does the new itinerary look okay?