I'm not sure on Irish licensing rules but I'd guess your Canada license will be fine if you are a legal resident of Canada??
I did a EU trip, went through similar options: ship own bike, Rental,
buy locally??
After a month of research I decided to buy a bike in the UK. I started reading UK Adverts on line, found a deal, contacted seller, discussed bike.
Arrived London, took train to sellers house to check out the 2 year old Triumph Tiger. It was as advertised, we agreed on a price and deal was done. So easy!
I had a local address in Oxford, so got my own Log Book and in 10 minutes on the phone with Bennett's had full cover insurance.
Did maintenance on the Tiger, new tires, chain, oil change, filters ... and took off! Bit of UK travel, then France, Spain, Portugal. 6 weeks! Great trip!
I left bike in France (friends house) for year and a half, returned and did a similar trip again.
Things got very expensive after that so had my UK friend sell off Tiger, forwarded me the money in the US. Done!
I would try to KEEP your bike after your tour if you can afford to store it ... maybe return again for another ride? Lots to see and do!
If you can't afford it maybe set up a BUY BACK scheme from a dealer?
More expensive, but at least you don't have to worry about selling off bike.
My trip ended up being super cheap as I did well buying the bike and did OK when selling ... even with the 22,000 miles I put on the bike during my two major EU tours. All up only about $1000 out of pocket for bike. (not counting tires, chain, sprocket, oil, filters) Very affordable!
Good luck!