1

Miss Shannon. It is a barracks for workers at the airport. Alternatives in the area: Limerick isn't really worth the bother. Ennis is an interesting place to stay if you like Irish traditional music, but there isn't a lot to do there. How about going to another nice place in Clare, (another in relation to Doolin, the most touristy place in Clare, and a bit of an artificial sort of place for that reason) - there's places like Kilkee, Kilrush, Miltown Malbay.

Killarney - you'll have seen what there is to see in the town itself in a couple of hours. The attraction are the hills etc in the area, but apart from the immediate lakeside area, things are a bit out of town, useful to have wheels to get there. And you are there in mid-winter.

You are mentioning mostly the big places. It's the smaller places I mostly like in Ireland.

2

Killarney is a good spot to visit Ring of Kerry and Bearra Penninsula from, the national park is great but yeah three nights might be stretching it. Four nights and five days in Dub is a bit so add on day trips to places, the possibilities include Howth, Newgrange, Dalkey, Belfast.

#1 is right. With a good chunk of three weeks you should try to stretch yourself to outside the cities/larger towns. Options might include (and some of these are towns and touristy) Kenmare, Kinsale, Baltimore, Clonakilty and Adare. These places (mostly) are large enough to be reasonably served by buses (and I presume you are not driving).

PS The dates you have pointed to is almost two months so I presume you mean until Jan 26. Be warned, this year was pretty mild compared to the previous two Januarys when there was snow on the ground and so on. This will/may impact on you getting from A-to-B at times so be prepared for that.

3

Agree with # 1 in regard to giving Shannon a miss....maybe instead you could consider a day or two on the Aran Islands reachable by ferry from Clare and Galway. Generally mid to late January is when we get a bit of snow in Ireland (though not this year), it usually will only be for a few days and not very heavy snowfalls but could disrupt bus transport. Weather wise it not going to be freezing cold more just wet.

4

You guys are great ok so I definitely want to see heaps of the smaller towns I just don't have heaps of knowledge on which ones are worth while, names and so on so keep them coming! I'm redoing the plan now adding and taking things out!

5

It sounds like a brave itinerary Jsksrs, especially if you come over in the month of February:) Maybe 4 nights in Dublin and 3 in Killarney are a bit too much. Killarney is a lovely town and in a good location to get to the Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula, but 2 nights would be enough. Since you have plenty of time to explore the island, I would also consider the idea of visiting Northern Ireland. With public transport Belfast is just a couple of hours far from Dublin and it is definitely worth a visit. Belfast offers lots of things to see and do, I highly recommend you a Black taxi tour to learn about the history of this city. From there you could also take a daily tour and see the beautiful Antrim Coast, one of the most scenic drives of Ireland. Giant's Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, Bushmills Distillery, Dunluce Castle and the amazing Mussenden Temple are all MUST SEE.
From Belfast you could also easily reach Londonderry, city of culture 2013, with a train or a bus. I'd suggest you to see this historic city and if you go there do not miss the Peace Museum.
Or, as Markfawner already pointed out, you could do some day trips from Dublin: Kildare, Newgrange and Bray are all good options. Also, when you are in Cork, I'd recommend you to visit Cobh and Kinsale. The former is a colourful village by the sea, this was the last place where the Titanic stopped before its end. The latter is considered the gourmet capital of Ireland, if you love seafood, Fishy Fishy Restaurant is the right place to go!
As for inexpensive accommodation, you can have a look at these:
Dublin: Avalon House (Hostel), Abbeyleigh House (B&B), Isaac Hostel
Glendalough: Hermitages or Glendalough International Hostel
Kilkenny: Kilkenny Tourist Hostel, or O'Malley's B&B
Cork: Cork International Hostel, Kinlay House or Aburn House
Killarney: Railway Hostel, Sùgàn Hostel, outiside of the centre there are lots of B&B as well.
Dingle: Hideout Hostel, Rainbow Hostel or Harbour Nights
Galway: ST Martins B&B, Galway City Hostel, Four Season B&B
Have a great adventure in Ireland!

6

I agree you don't want to do Shannon, nothing but airport there.
In Galway (Connemara) you might want to try Roundstone. Although it is on a bay, I wouldn't consider it for that. Lovely views, nice people, just "real" folks who live there, a bodhran maker, potter, etc., good basic food. We enjoyed our time there.
And I agree on Newgrange & Knowth near Dublin - very impressive history - and nearby Monasterboice High Cross if you can get there.
I thought Kylemore Abbey was nice but touristy. You only get to go in 4 rooms so the outside photos I already saw before I visited was about it. The garden is nice but, again, sort of touristy.
You might like Westport Mayo - mid sized town with an interesting mix of shops, restaurants and "real" folks - history nearby with Crough Patrick, Murrisk Abbey and lots about Grace O'Malley, one of my new heroes.
We enjoyed visiting with the locals mostly. Easy to sit down in the town square or coffee shop and say hello to the folks next to you and a conversation will ensue for sure.