Well it really depends on where you'll be starting your journey. Unless you'll be in the North, a day-trip to the Giant's Causeway will be a VERY long drive. If you'd like to drive through Joyce Country it would be well worth it because some of the scenery there is spectacular. If you happen to be in the East at any point, check out the Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough. If you want to go to Newgrange get there fairly early in the day to avoid the tours being sold out. They take you by bus from the visitors centre to the monuments, but there is a little bit of a walk to get to the bus pick-up station. The Hill of Tara and the village of Slane are nearby as well.
General advice for driving in Ireland: many of the roads aren't very fast and some may even be poorly marked. When we drove around it took us a good four days from starting in Belfast, going south, west to Galway and back to Belfast. Driving through Galway, Connemara, up to Sligo and back to Belfast took us nearly a whole day.
If you plan to explore Connemara, stock up on stuff to eat and plenty of petrol, there isn't much at all in the middle, just road and mountains, but it's GORGEOUS!
Hope ya have a good trip!