So much has been written on Fodors about Ireland; thanks to all those who helped me to make our trip so worthwhile. I've only included here any details that we discovered for ourselves.
Be prepared for some rain on most days, and cold windy weather even in summer. Coming from Australia, our expectations of summer weather weren't really met . We were based in Dublin on a 3 week home exchange, and took day trips, plus a few night's break to cover what we wanted to see.

Dublin Dart coastal train is an excellent way to visit all the townships along the coast of Dublin City. A single day pass allows you to hop on and off as many times as you want during that day. We enjoyed visiting Howth fishing village, Malahide castle, Killiney Beach, Bray seaside carnival & coastal walk, Dunlougherie harbour.

Dalkey is an historic town with castle, interesting shops including a bakery that does excellent snacks and light meals .From the Heritage Centre, local residents take guided walks around the area – a great way to discover the local history in detail. Just down the road is Bulloch Harbour – still very old world in these modern times. Martello towers in the area.

Dublin city - the boat trip on the river Liffey gives a different perspective on the old and new areas of the city with an interesting historical commentary. It’s a very easy city to walk around, with most of the interesting sites within easy walking distance.

Dingle Peninsula: allow at least a full day to explore this beautiful coastal area! Of particular interest to us were Inch Beach, the Beahive Huts and Irish Famine Cottages at Slea Head.

We stayed one night at Glenbeigh and two nights at Galway, and really could have done with an extra night at each place. Our accommodation at Glenbeigh, at Kerry Ocean Lodge was an interesting experience in a renovated old-style guest house. This was in direct contrast to the Travelodge at Galway, which for the price we paid was great value. The beds were comfy, bathrooms clean and adequate in both places, and we were able to take the scenic drives that we enjoyed.

Thank you for giving us some insight into towns and places never yet mentioned on previous posts! I immediately got out my crumpled map of Ireland that we used when doing our trip this past May. I see you travelled north & south of Dublin on the Dart coastal train. We spent our last night in Rush (north) before our flight. It has a huge expanse of beach.

I found Bray on both my maps but not Bulloch Harbour or Martello Towers.
At Glenbeigh we spent one night at Glenross Caravan Park in our motorhome. I'm not surprised you were taken with the area and quaint little village. Our view was of Rossbeigh Strand - a Blue Flag beach.

Thanks for posting - are we going to see some photos soon? Hope so!

Tod I think you need to read this about Martello towers - they are towers all over the British Isles (and Empire), not a place, nor specific to Ireland:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martello_tower

Thanks Hetismij - I checked both my guide books and there is not one reference to a Martello Tower. On the link you gave me I notice on the world map with the little red dots pointing out their positions, there are no less than 4 in Ireland which equal the number in the huge expanse of Canada and only slightly out do America with its six towers. I also note we have one right here in South Africa! Will check that out later.

Right, what is the answer? Why are they not mentioned? Seems a bit odd for something historical not to be noted in a guide book. My Guides were Insight Guide to Ireland and Drive Around Ireland. Wonder if Fodors mentions them in their guide book?
Thanks so much for the information Hetismij!

Found ours! It's in Simonstown the Naval Base near Cape Town. I see there is one in Vazon, Guernsey, where I have been and didn't know what the heck it was!!!

Glad to be of help. There are more than 4 in Ireland - there are 7 around Cork alone. Something more like 50 in total.
In England some have even been converted into homes.

di2315 Sorry to hijack your thread! I've enjoyed reading all your reports. Did you like the home you stayed in? Was it convenient for getting into Dublin centre? It sounds like you enjoyed yourselves even though the weather was very Irish.

Thanks for all the conversation! Martello towers piqued our interest; they were certainly preparing well for Napoleon!

I find that when we travel and use home exchanges, we often get to find out about places of local interest and significance that don't appear in guide books and travel articles in the media. The host family always leave information about their favourite local hideaways; also we get to explore that small 'thumbprint' in much greater detail than someone just passing through on a touring itinerary. Most of these little gems could never cope with the large crowds of tour buses.

This particulary home was just lovely. We exchanged with a family of 5, so it was way too large for the 2 of us! We also exchanged cars, so transport was no problem. We used the Dart for coastal travel; if we had driven to these places, the costs of parking (always Pay & Display) would have been more than train cost!

Home exchanges have taken us to places that we probably would never have considered (or even been aware of) by ourselves. For us they blend beautifully with the chance to visit more iconic places independently. Cheers, Di