This question was addressed and answered but it was in 2018 (pre COVID). I will review their answers. That said, I'll be there in April, 2026 and wondered what YOU would recommend. We decided against a pub music tour as my friend has trouble walking and they go to 3 pubs. We'd be happy to just go to one to hear some music and meet some locals. So, any thoughts? Thanks!
Posted by
Land of La
10089 posts
The Long Hall
Posted by
Mountains of S. Oregon
1111 posts
Our favorite is The Brazen Head, but it's best on a Sunday afternoon. The Celt has evening sessions. The standard is The Cobblestone, which has sessions all day every day. It's very hard to find a session in Temple Bar as it's mostly drinking songs duos, although we found one on the perimeter a few years ago at the Ha' Penny.
Check www.thesession.org for good info or look at Facebook pages for The Porterhouse, The Old Storehouse, Devitts, The Auld Dub among others. It takes a bit to dig them out. Google's AI search has made it a little easier.
Search for something like "site:facebook.com Dublin and trad or session and Monday"
Sessions can be pretty popular, so wear good standing shoes or prepare to battle for seats. Make sure you support the bar with a beer/whiskey or two. Taking seats and not spending any money is just plain rude.
Posted by
Ithaca, NY, USA
956 posts
On the advice of a local guide we spent an evening at O’Donahues near St Stephen’s Green. It’s where the folk group The Dubliners got their start. It’s tiny and gets really full, so go early if you can. The night we were there there was a trad session (very young musicians, possibly students, and quite good) and later a folk trio. Clearly regulars as well as tourists because it seemed like everyone was singing along to every chorus of the folk songs. We were super tired after walking 12+ miles that day but kept staying for “just one more song…”
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
8641 posts
The Cobblestone. We were there in 2019, yes, 6 months before the Pandemic hit, and have been back to Ireland since then, although not Dublin. However, I saw a TV program last year that included talking to the owner of the Cobblestone pub about the music scene there, and it included some fine live music playing, too. Looks like it’s survived COVID, and the trad is still going strong.
Posted by
OP
Portland, OR, USA
46 posts
Thanks, all! Got a lot of good information from you and, as we're only there 3 nights, we'll find at least one from your recommendations!
Posted by
Mountains of S. Oregon
1111 posts
We were in Dublin for three nights back in 2019 before the short-term lets crackdown, and we stayed in the same building as the Cobblestone, and spent all three evenings and an afternoon soaking it in. The Brazen Head accounted for the other afternoon. Didn't get to see much else :-)
Posted by
Mountains of S. Oregon
1111 posts
Incidentally, The Temple Bar1 has a webcam running 7/24 so you can see exactly what you're missing/avoiding.