I just returned from 2 weeks in Ireland and a week in Belgium/Holland.
We landed in Shannon and began driving to Dingle. It was 3 terrifying hours! Beware that the closer you drive to the coast, the worse are the roads. Most are very, very narrow and lined with stone-wall fences that are now covered with trees, vines, bushes, etc. There is NO SHOULDER and tons of BLIND CURVES. By the time we reached our B&B (which was in the middle of a farm, 12 km outside Dingle) we were totally exhausted and dreading the next days of driving to Kensale, Galway, etc. My advice: plan on driving less rather than more the first day. Driving gets easier with practice. The interior roads are good. As for lodging, there are tons of B&B's so finding a place is always possible. If you want to stay "inside the city" then you might want to book ahead. Staying in town gives you the freedom to walk to the pubs and enjoy the Guinness and music knowing you don't have to drive. Cheers!

If you go to Killarny do not stay at Wuthering Heights B&B. It was the first one we stayed at last year and actually the first time we ever stayed at a B&B. We thought we had made a huge mistake travelling this way. The rooms were dirty and stifiling hot, the bathrooms had visible mold growing in various places and we never saw the owner, just her teenage neice.

Sorry for the double reply. We went in late May and sometimes had to stop at several B&Bs before finding one with a room. I would recommend making reservations just the night before, that way you aren't nailed down to too much of an itinerary but you'll be guaranteed a place to sleep. That was what worked best for us. The local tourist offices are willing to phone the B&Bs to help you make reservations for a small fee (I can't recall for certain but i think it was 1E per reservation). If you stay in Ennis at all I recommend the Railway House. It was one of the best places we stayed.

You're asking for spelling advice...

from ME????????

Seriously, though, we only ever go to Blarney if we are brining along newcomers, for exactly the reason you said -- they seem to have "improved" the village into the ground!