Hi guys.  We are planning a 12-day trip in June (me, my mother, and two teenagers).  We are somewhat constricted in that we are half-following my daughter's bus tour, so there are certain nights we need to be near certain places.  Also, we are traveling cheap.  The current plan is something iike:

2 nights Dublin

4 nights Cork area (might break it up)

2 nights Galway

2 nights Belfast

1 night Dublin

I am nervous to drive on the left.  We plan to see Dublin and get to Cork by train and local transit.  In Cork, I'll rent a car and try it, but I want to plan the trip as if I get scared and decide I can't drive.  So, I am trying to pick places to stay that are close to bus stops or metro stations.

My questions for you: given that, is it better to stay in Cork as a base and make day trips out to, say, Killarney?  Or to move around a lot to sleep near where we plan to spend the day?

Also, we would like to see the Cliffs of Moher "on the way" from Cork area to Galway.  Most of the tours seem to be round trip to their origin point, and I doubt the public bus would drop you off close enough.  Any suggestions for that?  Likewise, we are supposed to meet my daughter's group for a cruise of Lough Corrib, but it's not yet clear to me how we will get there from Galway.

In fact, any suggestions about using transit for day trips would be most welcome.  It looks like buses go everywhere, but many only run once or twice a day, and it's hard to tell if they put you near to an attraction or not.  We are good for walking about 5 miles (10km) in a day, but not with lugging suitcases too far. 

Thanks for any tips you can give us.