Can anyone let me know what the best months are to visit Ireland? Warmest, least rainy time. What are the must see cities? Also, any input on how easy it is to walk around the various cities, what safe/best areas of those cities are would be greatly appreciated.
I like to explore cities on my own, and it seems to be safe to do so w/ male companion, but any tips would be wonderful. I kind of would like to see both north and south parts of Ireland but dont know how feasible that is in a 10-14 day trip? Am I better to just focus on one area? How safe is Northern Ireland these days?
Is there anything I must see not too far outside of one of the larger cities? How costly is Ireland in comparison to say NY? Are cabs plenitful?
My appreciation to any and all who can provide some insight!

Least rainy?

Sorry - all the rain's got to my brain. The weather here is always a gamble - you just never know ahead of time.

The cities here are pretty safe on foot - like anywhere, there are areas that aren't great but stick to the busier areas and you should be fine. Dublin and Galway would be my two favourite cities. The north's pretty safe these days. Loads of cabs in the cities these days (thank you deregulatiion!) It's not a huge island, so getting around's pretty quick - from Dublin, Belfast is about 2 hours away and Cork and Galway about 3 hours. (The way I drive, anyway)

Things are still pretty expensive here but with the recession, it's getting a bit cheaper, especially hotels and flights. Going out is quite dear though - drinking's probably about the same as NYC and eating out is dearer.

As for where to go, well I'm probably not great to ask as I'm not seeing things from a tourist's perspective. But if you want to ask questions about anything, I'll try and help.

Don't make any jokes about Romanians...

Thanks for the input. Any suggestions about local pubs where we might be able to catch live music? Is there any special town that has more of a local music scene than the others?

the galway arts festival is on in July and that is usually a pretty good time to visit, lots of concerts and plays on, for sight-seeing though i'm not too sure. the best thing i find to do in a new city is to do the tourist open-topped bus thing. you get a good feel for the place and then can go back to places of interest to you.

'Taaffes' is a good pub in galway for traditional music, it is on the main shop street so it is easy to find.

weather wise we often get four seasons in one day, so be prepared.

thanks for the input.