Ireland itinerary help
 

Dear Fodorites,
I've spent way too much time researching (obsessing?) about our 15 day itinerary and would welcome suggestions (or approval!). We are active, in our early 60's, like hiking, beautiful scenery, friendly villages, and homemade food. We're interested in history and getting to hear some traditional music.
day 1 - arrive Dublin, quick orientation of the city, get good night's sleep
day 2 - pick up rental car. En route to west coast, stop Kilkenny Castle and Rock of Cashel. Stay in Killorglin for 3 nights (this seemed to be a decent mid-way point between Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula.
day 3 - Ring of Kerry
day 4 - Dingle Peninsula
day 5 - drive to Doolin. Hike along Cliffs of Moher. Doolin is our base for 3 nights.
day 6 - day trip to Inishmore
day 7 - the Burren
day 8 - drive to Clifden; stop in Galway for the day
day 9 - 12 - Connemara, Kylemore Abbey, Killary Sheep Farm, Ashford Castle Falconry Car, Westport for Great Western Greenway. Clifden is our base for these days.
day 13 - drive Dublin and drop off car.
day 14 - Dublin (or tour of Glendalough and Wicklow)
day 15 - leave
I've tried to balance desire to see a lot with not rushing or switching places too often. Thank you in advance for your input.

Basically I'm wondering if we're spreading ourselves too thin, or if I've planned an appropriate number of days in each place. I realize this is subjective, but would welcome input from travelers who have done a similar route. Thanks very much!

My thoughts:
I am not familiar with Killorglin. I stick with Killarney.
Muckross House is a must for me. Perhaps it would fit in Day 2.
Day trip to Inishmore should be by Rossaveal Ferry which is near Galway, not Doolin.
5 nights in Clifden is way too many. You did not specify what you are doing with each of those days.
I made a complete itinerary for you to build on.

day 1 - Arrive Dublin, quick orientation of the city via one of the Hop on Hop off buses, get good night's sleep.
day 2 - Early start. Pick up rental car. Drive to Killorglin,3 nights. Visit Kilkenny, Rock of Cashel, and Muckross House en route. .
day 3 - Ring of Kerry
day 4 - Dingle Peninsula
day 5 - Drive to Doolin. Hike Cliffs of Moher.2 nights in Doolin.
day 7 - Drive to Westport for 2 nights. Visit Ashford Castle (Falconry) en route.
day 8 - Hike/Cycle Great Western Greenway.
day 9 - Drive to Clifden for 2 nights. Take the route via Louisburg. Many possible stops including yours- Connemara, Kylemore Abbey, Killary Sheep Farm Castle for (Falconry). Perhaps Quiet Man Cottage.PM tour Galway.
day 10 -More Connemara.
day 11 -Drive to Galway for 2 nights.
day 12 -Day trip to Inishmore via Rossaveal Ferry.
day 13 -Drive Dublin and drop off car.
day 14 -Dublin (or tour of Glendalough and Wicklow )
day 15 -Fly home

Westport to Clifden via Louisburgh and Doo Lough Pass https://goo.gl/maps/unLEvJgz5VMeYgVeA

Thank you dugi_otok for your comments. Since my original post, we’ve amended our itinerary a bit:
Day 1 - land Dublin
Day 2- Dublin
Day 3 - Dublin
Day 4 - drive to Kilorglin (stop Kilkenny Castle and Rock of Cashel)
Day 5 - Ring of Kerry
Day 6 - Dingle Peninsula
Day 7 - Muckross House, etc.
Day 8 - drive Doolin; Cliffs of Moher
Day 9 - the Burren
Day 10 - Inishmore (I realize that one can take ferry from Rossaveal, but also from Doolin?)
Day 11 - drive Clifden; stop Galway
Day 12 - Connemara, Kylemore Abbey, Diamond Hill hike?
Day 13 - Killary Harbor (sheep farm)
Day 14 - Westport (Great Western Greenway bike ride)
Day 15 - drive back to Dublin
Day 16 - depart

I’ve tried to reduce the number of places we are lodging to: Dublin, Kilorglin, Doolin, and Clifden. I see on one hand that it might make sense to stay a night or two in Westport, but again I didn’t want to add another move to new lodgings. Does this make sense or am I underestimating distances in this area?

Thank you for any input.

<<Day 10 - Inishmore (I realize that one can take ferry from Rossaveal, but also from Doolin?)>>

Rick Steves says:

Most travelers visit Inishmore as a day trip by boat from Galway.
(Boats from Doolin are too slow and weather-dependent to allow enough time for a same-day round -trip to Inishmore.)
.......Note that the wind and tides might cause cancellations (of sailings from Doolin). so confirm your departure from Doolin
(the larger boats sailing from Rossaveal are less weather dependent).
Although they(Doolin Ferries) may promise to get you to Inishmore in an hour,
every one of my trips in the past few years has included brief stops at Inissheer and Inishmaan en route,
making the actual crossing time more than 1.5 hours.

Boats from Doolin to the Aron Islands are often canceled or run late.
Even a balmy day can be too windy to allow for a sailing from Doolin's crude little port.

From Doolin opt for a day trip to nearby, though less spectacular, Inisheer.

or Inishboffin?
 

Thanks so much for the ferry information to Inishmore.
Perhaps we will instead take the ferry to Inishboffin since we'll be in Clifden for several days.
Thanks again.

I will always vote for cliffs of Moher, rock of Cashel, glendalough and Wicklow mts. Dublin goes without saying; a pub persons dream!