Resolved Question: Should I rent a car when I go to Ireland?

Hello all. My wife and I are going to Ireland and Scotland from August 23 - Sept 7th. We arrive in Dublin in the early AM. I think out initial plan definatly subject to change is to go to Dublin, Kilkenny, Galway up to Belfast and the ferry over to Stranraer and stay in Scotland Edinburgh we are thinking for 4 nights. So the plan would be like 3 nights in Dublin, 2 nights in Kilkenny, 2 nights in Galway, 2 nights in Belfast see the Giant Causeway etc, then 4 nights in Scotland Edinburgh then back to Dublin for the last few nights and fly out. So any information would be extremely helpful to me or advice about maybe skipping one area and going somewhere better. Here are some initial questions that would be a huge help.

We are planning on driving so we would want to get a rental car for say 9 days while in Ireland and pickup in Dublin dropoff in Belfast before we take the ferry. Can this be done and what would be the closest location to the ferry area? Any idea on US cost I know budget and europcar definatly allows pickup in Dublin and dropoff at either Belfast International Airport, Belfast Downtown etc.

Resolved Question: Should I rent a car when I go to Ireland?

Going to Ireland for the first time in late August - early September for 10 days and 10 nights. I've heard driving is the way to go. Problem is, however, I don't know how to drive a stick and sticks are $600+ cheaper to rent than autos. However, I've got nothing to do throughout the month of August, so I could learn how to drive a stick during that time. Thus, this is basically a two-part question:

1) Is it reasonable to expect to spend only a couple weeks or so learning to drive a stick sufficiently to NOT make a total ass out of myself in Ireland, or cause a serious accident?

2) If getting a stick would be stupid, should I pay the $800 it would cost for the duration of the trip to get an automatic rental car rather than doing the bus/train thing?

Seems like there are some great parts of Ireland where a car is absolutely preferable... I keep waffling on what to do, and could use some advice.

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