We just got back from a trip to Ireland. Landed in Dublin Sunday, September 27, after 10 days in Scotland, and got home this past Tuesday, October 6.
We took a 5 day guided craft brewery tour of Ireland:
http://breweryhopsofireland.com/product/5-day-wild-atlantic-way-tour/I highly recommend it to everyone. Small group interested in beer, the guide Mia is friendly, very knowledgeable, and gives you great discussions of Ireland as you travel across the countryside.
Like the rest of Europe, craft beer has really exploded in Ireland in the past 5 years, and new breweries are opening up, and current craft breweries are expanding, at a remarkable pace. We visited Eight Degrees, Franciscan Wells, Blacks of Kinsale, Stonewell cidery, Killarny, Burren, Galway Bay, and White Gypsey. All had excellent beer. A couple of nice stops at Irish smokehouses as well.
The Cliffs of Moher are a must visit (walk the trail to avoid the crowds) and the Burren is cool as well.
Beer-related, one of the highlights was sitting in the Salt House pub in Galway, which is owned by the Galway Bay brewery. The night we were there (Thursday October 1), they were putting on three guest taps from the White Hag brewery, and the White Hag brewers were on hand. One of the beers they had was a a heather sour ale, bittered with gruit (no hops), and fermented with whatever wild yeast was on the heather. It was an amazing beer (their 10.2% Imperial Stout was pretty good as well).
One tip: in Dublin, have dinner and a few beers at L. Mulligan Grocer.