Which towns are best for traditional music sessions on a short trip?
Pick towns where sessions run on ordinary weeknights, not only at festivals. Ennis is the safest first pick: the Clare county town has built its name on nightly pub sessions. Doolin, up the Clare coast near the Cliffs of Moher, runs sessions for visitors and locals in a small village setting. Dingle town fills its harbour pubs with music most nights in season, and Galway city gives you buskers by day and pub sessions by night, with the choice widest there. Westport adds a strong pub music scene under Croagh Patrick. Comhaltas branches run sessions and classes in many of these towns, and starting times vary by pub and season. The pattern at the time of checking: Doolin's pubs run sessions nightly through the summer, and O'Sullivan's Courthouse Pub in Dingle holds an open session every night of the week, usually from about 9pm and earlier on Sundays.
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Sources
- Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann: traditional music branches and sessions, comhaltas.ie
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