Hi,

We're heading to Ireland at the beginning of November and land in at the Dublin airport around 3pm. Ideally, it would be nice to stay in a town no more than an hour southwest-ish of Dublin as we are heading to Cork the next day. Although not quite south, Trim looks nice. Or Maynooth or Newbridge....Portlaoise seems a little too far. It would be great to find a cute, small village to stay in, close to walk to a pub to grab a drink and dinner before crashing. Any thoughts would be great!

Thanks!

Enniskerry is about 40 minutes south of Dublin Airport and a nice town. I was there to visit adjacent Powerscourt which I recommend if you have the time. http://powerscourt.com/

Continuing south you could stop at Glendalough, very beautiful and doesn't necessarily take a lot of time to visit. http://visitwicklow.ie/attractions/g...monastic-city/

You don't find cute small villages within commuting range of Dublin. You might find dormitory towns with the main street of what was a country town at their core.

To make the drive to Cork convenient, you should think west of Dublin rather than south. But anywhere near the M50 would allow you drive to Cork in about 3 hours, as it's motorway nearly all the way.

Maynooth has a somewhat interesting castle. It also has thousands of students, as the Catholic national seminary has morphed into a university: so from Monday to Thursday the pubs are crowded and loud.

Trim involves starting out in the wrong direction. But the castle is good. I'm tot familiar with the pub or dining scene.

Newbridge, for me, lacks character. It does have an attraction that might appeal to some: https://newbridgesilverware.com/mosi.

Malahide is a pleasant village-turned-dormitory-town near the airport. Some good restaurants; a chance to look at the sea; a good castle to visit.

Personally I would head to Kilkenny but just short of there is Abbeyleix which is on the pre motorway Dublin to Cork Road. http://abbeyleix.irishheritagetowns.com/