Ireland Planning Help!
 

Hello All,
My husband and I (early 30s) will be traveling to Ireland for a wedding in mid-September. We unfortunately don't have a ton of time in country, and as with everyone, want to see as much as possible without overwhelming ourselves. Tentative Plan:

-September 13th (Friday): in Dublin on Friday, (10am international flight from DC) ... we are meeting friends in Killarney who will have been there for a couple days and have a rented car. To save time on our shortened trip, we were planning on staying in the airport and taking a flight from Dublin to Killarney ($100, 1 hr.). Spend the rest of the afternoon / evening getting checked-in, acclimated, and walking around town. We're considering the Victoria House Hotel, Muckross Park Hotel & Spa, Great Southern Killarney & The Lake Hotel Killarney... I haven't checked locations yet, so perhaps this would get narrowed quickly.
-September 14th (Saturday): Day trip from Killarney to ___ ... so many options! Rock of Cashel? ROK? Dingle or Beara Peninsula? Killarney National Park (TORC waterfall)? etc. Not sure if these are all full day adventures or if some of these are on the way to each other and we could hit up two. Early on in research!
-September 15th (Sunday): Day trip from Killarney to ___ ... same as above, filled with different adventure.
-September 16th (Monday): Head from Killarney to Galway early Monday morning ... is there anything "must see" along the way or would you suggest we plow through and get to Galway? Arrive to Galway at some point Monday depending on any needed stops and check-in, walk-around town, etc. I don't think we can take on Connemara or COM on this day knowing those seem to be full days, so guessing will need to stay in town? Also, we've read positive reviews about The G Hotel and Spa in Galway, but it also doesn't seem like you can walk to center or town. We're also considering Hotel Meyrick, which appears to be a better location. Should we consider elsewhere?
-September 17th (Tuesday): Wake up early and plan on Connemara or COM ... this is really our only day to explore in Galway area, thus we will make the most of what we have. Any recommendations would be great.
-September 18th (Wednesday): Head to Sligo as we have a wedding there on the 19th for which we have to be at the rehearsal dinner for this evening. We don't need to arrive until mid afternoon, so we do have until lunch hour or so until we need to hit the road.
-September 19th (Thursday): Wedding - occupied all day
-September 20th (Friday): Hit the road early and head to Dublin. We will certainly be coming back to Ireland to do the North at some point, so we aren't too concerned about our limited time in Dublin for this trip. Nonetheless, we'll likely get to Dublin by lunch hour and check-in to our hotel (booked at The Merrion) and have a busy day exploring the far too many things to check-out :)
-September 21st (Saturday): Flight out mid-morning back to DC

Thoughts of my own that I'd love feedback on outside of the general iterinary:
-Would you recommend 3 nights in Killarney and 2 nights in Galway like I laid out above? Or would you swap and do 2 nights in Killarney and 3 nights in Galway? I imagine it will be split opinions ;) but any thoughts would be great.
-If we stick with 2 full days (Saturday and Sunday) in Killarney, based on the many things to do and see, any thoughts on top suggestions?
-For Galway, if we stick with only 2 nights there, we really only have 1 full day that doesn't have travel to Galway or leaving Galway. This is certainly a bummer, but I don't want to fully cut out Galway as the drive otherwise from Killarney to Sligo would take a good half day. Still worth the stop in Galway? Any suggestions for the 1 full day there?
-Lastly, despite it being a bit early to ask for specific recommendations ... we love food! If you have any great restaurant recommendations in Killarney, Galway or Dublin, please send them our way. Additionally, if you have any "neat experiences" for food tours or specific special things to do guided, please share as well. We may be considering getting a half-day guide in Dublin, but tbd.

Thanks so much in advance!! This has proved harder than anticipated, but in a good way!

Hotel Meyrickin Galway is a good choice. You are very close to my fav pub O'Connells. Looks are deceiving. Go into the bar and go to the beer garden. It is fun and the dough brothers have a great wood fire oven pizza, You could stop at the COM on your way to Galway. Skip the visitor center and just take the walk. If you want a good dinner in Galway cross the bridge and go to John Keogh's gastropub on Dominick St, make reservations. The Crane bar has music for after dinner on 2 Sea Rd. You could take a day tour from the coach station, Galway tour company is good. Nightlife and great buskers in Galway.

You have a car so could visit Connemara on your own. Look at some of the coach tours for highlights on where they visit. Westport or Clifden are nice stops. A trip to Inishmor on a sunny day is always good. Rosseveal ferry. We had to walk the Salthill prom last trip but not very exciting.