About five years or so ago me and my partner flew from Plymouth to Cork withthe idea of getting the bus around the west coast for a week. Spent the afternoon in Cork and it was OK, very busy main drag, grubby bus station...
Got the bus to bantry bay and spent a couple of nights there in a bar/Hotel. We then tried hitchiking towards the Ring of Kerry....didn't have much luck untill an oyster fisherman picked us up in his tatty pick-up and took us to a village called Sneem where I remember there were lots of sculptures outside. Stayed in a hostel there and hitched a life with a french couple the next day to Cahershiveen. Great castle and iron age fort (I have made fieldnotes for the fort somewhere on the TMA...)
Next day got the bus to Killarney, very touristy but the bars were good and we cycled round the lakes.

This time of year the bus service should be better than early Easter...if you decide to hitchhike it can take ages to get a lift!

Mr H