Ireland Itinerary - Shannon to Dublin
 

First timers, heading to Ireland. Land in Shannon at 7am on a friday in August. 9 nights, and depart from Dublin, back to Boston on Sunday afternoon. Overwhelmed with the itinerary planning and appreciate the insight as to how to make the most of the time. Four in our family, two boys 10 and 13.

Planned first day heading up to the Burren over to cliffs, and then heading south along the coast. Second and third days Dingle and Ring of Kerry. Want to make our way East to Kiss the Blarney, visit Cashel and Tipperary, and stay a few nights in Waterford (Waterford Castle?) and or Kilkenney. Wrapping up last nights (Friday and Saturday) in Dublin.

Does this seem reasonable, and any thoughts as to places to Stay? Also, is the Dingle Skellig Hotel a good choice as a base to tour dingle and Ring of Kerry on nights 2 and 3?

Appreciate all the help. Hoping this is the first of many trips.

Your 1st day sounds way too ambitious. The flight, getting used to new surroundings, driving on the left, etc... can really add up. I would recommend scaling way back on day 1, because you never know what state you or the family will be in that day. On my first trip last June, we arrived in Shannon at around 9:00 a.m. We booked a B&B in Doolin, an easy drive from Shannon. It was nice not having a tight schedule, because we made more than a few wrong turns before getting our bearing. We had lunch in Doolin, then drove over to the cliffs.

You might want to consider something similar. Stay close to Shannon, give yourself some flexibility with your schedule. Another option you might want to consider for day 1 is Bunratty. Also a very short drive from the Shannon airport. The folk park and castle are a bit "touristy", but still a lot of fun. For two boys that age, the castle will be quite an experience and a great kick-off to your stay.

Excellent. I like the idea of heading to Doolin for the first day/night. And will start our journey south on Saturday. From Doolin, do we have a shot of covering Dingle on Day two?

We are considering the hotel dunloe castle now instead of staying in dingle, for nights two and three. thoughts?

Good idea to keep travel to a minimum on Day One.
You could keep to the coastal route on Day Two using the Killimer/Tarbert ferry crossing or use the route through Limerick city, taking in Bunratty Folk Park en route.
Dingle is one of those must see destinations and the Skellig is a fine hotel (with an indoor swimming pool for the boys) but it would not be an ideal base for the Ring of Kerry as the town is well out on the wrong peninsula.
Perhaps move on to somewhere like Kenmare for the next night, taking in the RoK en route.