I changed things a bit and I decided what was the most important to me to see. Can you tell me if this itinerary sounds reasonable or should I keep working on it?

Day 1 ? Land in Shannon at 8am. Figure by the time depart plane, get luggage, and rent car it will be 10:30. From 10:30 ? about 11:30 drive the Cliffs of Moher. ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR LUNCH NEAR THE CLIFFS? 11:30 ? about 3:00 see the Cliffs and do lunch sometime in there. 3:00 ? 4:30 drive time to Adare. Explore Adare and either sleep in Adare or if time head towards Killarney and stop along the way to sleep. ANYSUGGESTIONS OF B&B ALONG THE WAY ? maybe on the coast?

Day 2 ? If still in Adare, drive to Killarney. Drive Ring of Kerry with a packed lunch till about 4:00 or 5:00. Drive to Kinsale and check into a B&B. ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR DINNER AND B&B?

Day 3 ? Explore Kinsale ? drive to Cork. Explore Cork and see Blarney Castle

Day 4 ? Explore Waterford a little (IS THERE MUCH WORTH SEEING OTHER THAN CRYSTAL FAC?) See crystal fac. and drive to Cashel. See rock of Cashel and maybe stay the night in Cashel. If time will head towards Kilkenny to sleep.

Day 5 ? Morning see Kilkenny Design Center. HOW LONG SHOULD I ALLOW FOR THAT? Do some shopping in Kilkenny. Drive to Glandalough and see Wicklow Gap along the way. If time see National Park and visit little village of Clare (Vale of Clare).

Day 6 ? Powerscourt in Enniskerry in the morning and go to Dublin in the afternoon. See Book of Kells and explore Dublin. On the off chance that I have time between Enniskerry and Dublin I want to see Trim and Trim Castle, but don?t think I will have time. Do not have any interest in Hill of Tara anymore.

Day 7 ? Fly home from Dublin.

This looks much better. You may have a nice surprise on Day #1 because I think you'll be driving away from Shannon well before 10:30. It didn't take me more than an hour to get my bag and the car.
I think Day #2 still looks pretty tough. I wouldn't try to make it as far as Kinsale that night. You might want to look at Kenmare, Glengarriff, or Bantry for that night. Then, head for Kinsale on Day #3. Personally, I'd probably skip Cork altogether.

THANKS for the input. A few more questions... Do you think if I cut out Cork City all together on day 3 (but still make a stop at Blarney Castle)that I would have time to do the following:

Day 2 - From Adare drive to Killarney. Drive Ring of Kerry. Drive to Kenmare, Glengarriff, or Bantry for the night.

Day 3 - Drive to Drombeg Stone Circle, from there drive to Kinsale. Explore Kinsale and head to see Blarney Castle. Or if I skip Drombeg Stone Circle, would I have time to see CObh on the way to Blarney.

Is that still just asking for too much in the time I have?

fyi - I posted some thoughts on this version of your itinerary , on your original post , where you also have it listed.

Debbie - thanks for the very helpful tip about heading from ring of kerry to blarney instead of from ring of kerry to kinsale. i think that would be a good idea if the roads are easier. i can then head from blarney to kinsale the next day. great idea and is much appreciated - thanks!

another thought - you may want to post your itinerary on the IRELANDYES.com forum too.
Michele Erdvig hosts that site and has FABULOUS comments, as well as a large group of regulars that have been to Ireland multiple times.

another one to check out is Pat Preston - theirelandexpert.com

Just to make a small correction to Debbies post ... it is www.irelandexpert.com no "the"

Thank you all soooo much for all the help. I have done the research as far as distance and drive time, but it just doesn't give me as clear of an idea of how long things REALLY take. I would have made some major mistakes if it wasn't for you guys! Keep the suggestions coming.

If you stayed in Kenmare, Glengarriff,or Bantry on night #2, you could go to Kinsale the next day with a stop at Drombeg.
After spending the day driving the Ring of Kerry, I know that I wouldn't have the energy to then drive as far as Blarney.

Keep working on it!
Don't beat yourself to death the day of your arrival.
There are some nice places to eat in Lahinch; and there's always (RIP) Gus O'Connors place in Doolin (for lunch).
Consider the (Killimer-Tarbert) ferry to get to Kerry without backtracking. Ireland's Tidy Village (Adare) isn't really worth a full day anyhow. Nearby Rathkeale is more historical.

If you decide to stay the night in west Clare, Fitzgerald's B&B in Miltown Malbay is nice.
Here's an alternative to staying the night in Adare: Killeline Leisure Park in Newcastlewest (County Limerick) is about 15mi further west than Adare. It's on the Old Cork Road about 1km south of the N-21 & Courtenay Lodge. I trust that John McCoy, owner of Mick McCoy's Sports Pub and Restaurant has found a new Chef.

The Leisure Park has a fully equipped Spa w/20m indoor swimming pool, Sauna, Steam and lots of hi-tech workout equipment. After an overnight flight and several hours of driving on those narrow 2-lane 'highways' a nice swim and a Sauna hit the spot. The 34-room Lodge is usually pretty full when the Horse meet is taking place in nearby Listowel (County Kerry) about the time you plan to be there.
BTW
Your itinerary should be a 'work in progress' even as you travel. It's just a guideline. Don't cast it in stone - be flexible!

Looks like a good itenerary. I agree that you you should probably try to stay in Kenmare on the second night and if I were you I would stay in Adare on the first night.