Firstly, take a deep breath and don't panic. 

To answer your direct question, I think you'ld be best served by heading to Sligo first, simply because it would be easier to make a 'last dash' to Shannon from Kinsale, rather than from Sligo.  

MOST of what you want is STILL do-able with the inclusion of Sligo.  According to www.aaroadwatch.ie (Route Planning), the route from Dublin airport to Sligo is 134.6 miles, and the route from Dub to Galway is 139.9, so EITHER will take you between 4 and 4.5 hours (using either Michele's 35 MPH rule, or my own, 30 MPH).  So, you could pick up your rental car at the airport after touring Dublin and then make your way to Sligo easily enough.  From there, the direct route to Galway is only about 85 miles (2 - 3 hours, depending on stops), but...

Dunno how much time you wish to spend in Dublin, or visiting the new-found relations, versus the time you have available...

You haven't said what interests you about Ireland, so any further recommendations would be difficult.  There's LOTS to see and do between Sligo and Shannon -- enough to FILL several weeks -- but with such a minimal 'must see' list, it CAN be done.

Give us a little more info to work with and I'm sure you'll be flooded with tips, suggestions and advice.


Bob

-- Edited by Itallian Chauffeur at 22:19, 2008-01-16

Thank you both for your advice. I'm slowly coming to accept the idea of cutting out Kinsale. It's just diificult because I've had several friends who have been there specifically recommend it to me as a place they know I would love and never want to leave.

My friend has said she only intends to try to eat one meal with the cousins, she doesn't want to be there long. Is there anything you all would recommend in Sligo? When I asked her how long she wanted to be in Sligo, she said she was only thinking of doing it as a daytrip from Galway. I told her that we should expect it to be 4 hours each way, according to the 35 mph rule, and this didn't seem to phase her. I think I'll want to at least spend 1 night there, though, and not do an 8 hour road tirp in one day.

I'm also trying to decide whether we should try to do Dublin in 1 day, or do it in 2. I think our to do list there is: Guiness Factory (just for the view at the top), Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol, and one of the guys wants to go see some studio that several of his favorite bands have recorded at - no idea here that is. Any advice on Dublin?

Lastly (sorry I ask so many questions!) how exactly do you narrow your trip down? After dreaming of Ireland all my 32 years, it's hard to narrow it down! I keep telling myself that I'll definitely go back before another 32 years pass, and that it's not going anywhere. But it's still hard. If you have any general advice, I'd love to hear it! Or is it really just "make a list, see where the important stuff is located, and narrow it down from there?"

Hey, Carrie, don't apologize for asking questions! Once that gets started, we will all begin our posts with, "Forgive me, but..." That's why we're all here, to learn from each other. You never know when your question and the answer will help someone else.

That said, definitely spend some time in Sligo. You can sneak across the border and take a tour (and drop some serious money, if you are so inclined. Do check out the bargain table) at the Belleek Pottery factory. Michele recommends, and I second, staying at Iorras (pronounced erris), on the way out to Rosses Point. In the area you can check out: Bricklieve Mountains (not for the faint of heart driver), Creevykeel Court Cairn, Glencar Lake and lovely waterfall, Gleniff Horseshoe road, The Lake Isle of Innisfree (a nice man in a motorboat will take you out to the island), Knocknarea (again, not for the faint of heart climber), Lissadell House, and other attractions too numerous to mention. With any luck, you will be there when our own Anchoress is selling her beautiful handmade treasures in the marketplace.

From Galway, my recommendation would be drive to Sligo in the morning, spend the afternoon exploring, dinner with the cousins, more exploring in the morning and then back to Galway in the afternoon. Or lunch with the cousins on the first day and then you're on your own. On the way back you could detour through Boyle and check out the Lough Key Forest Park, or visit Knock which is right on the N17. From Dublin, to Sligo in the morning, same afternoon and next morning, and then on to Galway about noon. You could catch Belleek on the way to Sligo with this scenario.

Except for the studio, you can catch all the sites you are interested in in Dublin from the Hop-on-hop-off bus tour. A day is certainly enough for what you have outlined, unless the studio takes a bunch of time.

How do you narrow your trip down? Painfully! Just kidding, but it can be difficult. Each of you make a list with priorities and then put them together and see what comes up. Of course, you will want to run it by the IrelandYes Irregulars because the only thing we like more than helping other people plan their trips is planning our own.

CarrieK:

When you enter the data, the route planner AUTOMATICALLY reports the data in KILOMETERS.  Just below that number is a 'Click Option' to CONVERT the distances into MILES.

   

Bob

Carrie K:

No need to 'Beat Yourself Up' -- if THAT'S the worst blunder you make, this trip, you're a better traveller than I ...    

As to Carrowkeel, I dunno eactly what you are expecting, but it is pretty LOW-KEY.  Here's some info from a website and the site link from where I 'lifted' it, for you peruse:


http://www.irishletter.com/ireland-travel-knocknarea-carrowmore.html

"Carrowmore, lying about a mile to the east of Knocknarea, is a megalithic stone cemetary, the largest in Ireland, which covers an area about a one and a half square miles. The approximately 65 monuments here are oval-shaped clusters, with a cairn (pile of stones) in the center. Theyre known as Portal Tombs or Dolmens, and are generally made of two upright stones that create a small chamber roofed by a flat flagstone.

The tombs are spread out over a large area that cuts across numerous local farms, creating a unique collision of the present and the distant past. Its location on a flat plain is a bit unsual, given that most pre-historic tombs were set on hilltops. Included here is a tomb that archealogists have dated at 4600 BC, which, if correct, would make it the oldest portal tomb in Ireland.

A small cottage at Carrowmore serves as a visitors center, offering exhibits and tours. Carrowmore is open from May September, from 10 am to last admission at 5:15 pm. Admission is 2 euro for adults (credit cards, by the way, are not accepted).  (Bold italics added, to highlight the pertinent data -- Bob)

The Ancient Capital
From Carrowmore, you can see the mountaintop Carrowkeel complex rising in the distance to the east. This neolithic necropolis is believed by some to be the stone age location of the capital of the Sligo region. It will take about an hour to drive there ask for directions before you leave Carrowmore. Visitors to Carrowkeels mountaintop will often find themselves completely alone with the past. About 15 cairns sit on limestone shelves. Archaeologists have found neolithic artifacts here from 2500 BC, and date some of the tombs from the Bronze age around 1500 BC. On the limestone face below Carrowkeels summit are the impressions of some 80 huts built as long as five thousand years ago.

Looking from this summit across Lough Arrow, you can see the Labey Rock, a portal Dolmen named for the Irish for bed, leaba. Tradition says that women who are childless can improve their fertility by lying on this rock. All around, hills known as drumlins (formed by retrating glaciers) dominate the scenery of south Sligo. A good way to complete the tour of the area is to stop at the castle ruin of nearby Ballymote. It was here that the Book of Ballymote was written in 1391, which enables scholars to interpret Irelands ancient Ogham script.

Its possible for a hearty traveler to walk from Sligo to Carrowmore and on to Knocknarea and back into town in one day."

Hope this helps,

Bob

-- Edited by Itallian Chauffeur at 17:06, 2008-01-27

Thank you so much!

I was considering Carrowmore just because I read that one of the tombs is built to catch the setting sun on the summer solstice, much like Newgrange and the winter solstice. But I'm wondering if it won't be as exciting as I thought. I'll have to think about it. Of course, what we do in Sligo will very much depend on the availability of the cousins, who have not been reached yet.

Michele, thank you for the suggestion of a night in Killarney! I forwarded my draft of the itinerary to my traveling companions and told them we had 4 choices: stay an extra night in Doolin, stay and extra night in Dingle, go to Killarney for 1 night, or go to Shannon for 2. I'll be interested in hearing what they have to say. One of them voted for Killarney, but I haven't gotten a response from the others yet.