Group of 8 - Driving Trip of Southern Ireland - Looking for recommendations/tips

Hi - There will be a group of 8 - 50/60 year olds coming for an 8 day driving trip of southern Ireland - August 10-18, 2026. We all love pubs, so we don't want to drive everyday, considering Galway (3 nights), Killarney (3 nights), Kilkenny (2 nights), but are open to changing things up if there is somewhere not to be missed. Should we shorten or skip one of these in favor of Waterford? Kenmare? Kinsale? We love a good city, town, or even a village if the pubs/restaurants are great. We do love live music, scenery, castles, gardens, and at one of those places some of the guys wanna spend a day freshwater fishing, so any recs on that would be great too. Thanks!