I'm lead on devising our trip to Ireland in September for 8 days. Mom has used the "It is my lifelong dream" route to force our hand this year. We are all from Florida, so I'm the only one who'll enjoy the weather and mom is not up to much walking. I'm trying to keep us in Shannon lodging so we don't pack out everyday, doing day trips with an exception for Waterford and Dublin. Here's the plan so far:

Day 1 arrive Shannon, get car, check in and hopefully visit Galway (52 miles from Shannon) in the afternoon.
Day 2 Visit Dingle (69 miles from Shannon)
Day 3 Visit Kerry (68 miles from Shannon)
Day 4 Visit Waterford (101 miles from Shannon) overnight here
Day 5 Visit Dublin (100 miles from Waterford) overnight here
Day 6 Visit Tipperary (100 miles from Dublin) return to Shannon
Day 7 Visit Limerick (20 miles from Shannon)
Day 8 return to US maybe stay an additional day.

Will this be enough to see Ireland, is it too much for a short trip? Any suggestions? I need to figure out hotel rooms and I noted with the exception of the area leading out from Dublin, roadways appear rural. And a bus tour is out, mom isn't one to keep to a schedule other than her own. Thanks!

Um, tagline should be Ireland, not Iceland. Already stressed....

Granted it's a small country - but roads are mostly local - and if you make 35 mph that is a fair estimate. (In a lot of places sheep on the local roads can be a problem). So don;t assume you can get on a highway and do 65 or 70 from one place to another - those trips will take hours in each direction.

I would like to see you rethink this. First, think about flying into Shannon and out of Dublin, or vice versa.

(Fifty two miles on the Florida turnpike would take less than an hour. In Ireland it could take two. And you need to allow time to stop along the way for photos, food, or potty breaks.)

Consider picking a few bases for a couple of nights each. I think all of the driving somewhere then back to Shannon would be exhausting, even more so than packing up in the morning. It really doesn't make sense to drive to Kerry and back to Shannon in a day, then drive to Dingle and back the next day.

Try spending the first day near Shannon and doing some sightseeing in Clare. The little towns are fun and there is an amazing variety of landscapes. Go to the folk park in Bunratty. visit the Cliffs of Moher. Skip Galway.

Then head to Kerry for a couple of nights. Visit Killarney, take a jaunting car around the Park or through the Gap of Dunloe. The next day, head to Dingle, then back to Killarney (or Kenmare.)

Now head toward Dublin. You can spend two nights there and still have time to spend somewhere else along the way, maybe near Cork. You could visit Kinsale, a scenic little town, or head up to Blarney and visit the castle grounds, which are really lovely.

I don't know if you have any specific reasons for the towns you listed, but there are nicer, more scenic areas than Waterford and Limerick.

I hope others will chime in here with more ideas.

I like Allisonm's suggestions very much. You are certainly trying to cover too much area in too little time. Also, I question some of your destinations. As Allisonm says, there are much nicer places to visit in Ireland than Waterford and Limerick.

A good resource for you to use in planning your trip would be the AA Route Planner. This tool will give you accurate driving distances (yours are off a bit) and pretty good driving times. I would add about 20% to the stated driving times to make them more accurate.

For example, you state the distance from Shannon to Dingle as 69 miles. The actual distance, according to the AA Route Planner from the town of Shannon to the town of Dingle (which I assume is your intended destination) is 107 miles and the given driving time is 2 hours 33 minutes (and I'd add around 30 minutes to that.)

http://www2.aaireland.ie/routes_beta/

Agree with the above advice. We chose 3 base camps (Killarney, Dingle, Galway). Not saying you should as you'll need to decide for yourself. Here are some photos and commentary if that helps with the process.

http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/ireland.html