Whether you should go it alone or get a package is entirely up to you.  If you feel comfortable without a 'backup' in case of something going wrong (I do) then go for it.  If you prefer to have someone to help you get out of messes, use an agent.  The voucher books, I've found, are usually about the same price, or more, than doing each part (airfare, B&Bs, car) on your own, especially if you use someone like Dan Dooley for the car rental. 

When are you going to be in Ireland?  If it's not July or August, you will be fine without reservations throughout the trip (unless during a holiday).  If you are high season, though, I'd suggest making reservations in the popular places (Killarney, etc.)

I've not used CIE but have heard good things about them on fodors.com.

Traditional Irish breakfast usually consists of any of the following (often all!):  eggs, soda bread, ham (they call it bacon), sausage, black pudding, white pudding, mushrooms, grilled tomato half, cereal, scones, toast, fruit, juice, coffee, tea, milk.  You will NOT go hungry in Ireland for breakfast!!!  Individual B&Bs may vary, but that's the gist of it.

As for Michelle's guide, why wait?  It will help NOW !!!

Creativitychick,

Congratulations on booking your flights! Before you reserve your car be sure to look at my "Car Rental" page for important info. Also click through to Kemwel (top of car page) to see what their rates are and how they compare to Dooley.

If you want to see 8 pages of Irish breakfasts you can visit my husband's website: http://www.irishbreakfast.0catch.com/index.html The pages are very slow to download and since it is a free website there are pop ups on it. But I think the photos of breakfast will make you very hungry. It is a good preview of the different things you can get. If the pages do not download all the way, click on refresh to make them work.

Michele

Maggie,

I'm with you! I have my oatmeal for breakfast when at home. But in Ireland I really indulge. As you can see from my husband's website he has way too much time on his hands since he retired. He likes to fool around with photo programs and put his face on all sorts of templates, hence the last photo! We have quite a collection of Irish breakfast photos. The ones online are the tip of the iceberg.

Michele