14 day car trip September 7-19-2025 Draft Itinerary so far Dublin - Cork - Ring of Kerry - Cliffs of Moher - Galway - Castlebar - our itinerary is open from here eventually ending up in Dublin. Your help with pubs featuring traditional Irish Music would be most helpful.
Posted by
1026 posts
Having taken the 14 day RS Best of Ireland tour in 2019, hands down the best music we heard (and we heard a lot of great music wherever we went) was the buskers in Galway. Great memories!
Posted by
North Georgia
58 posts
I’ll suggest Dingle as well as Galway.
Posted by
RIchmond, BC,Canada
948 posts
The Crane bar in Galway http://www.thecranebar.com/
Posted by
OP
spokane
10 posts
Thank you so much! The three of you (replies) confirmed our research about Galway and we are doing the Ring of Kerry in reverse order from the tour buses as Rick suggests. . I will report back on any special pubs we find! My travel companion heard great music in dingle....it may not be on our itinerary....
Posted by
Mountains of S. Oregon
823 posts
https://thesession.org/sessions/ has fairly reliable info about trad sessions. Doolin is reliable. A lot of smaller towns have weekly sessions, but September might see them sputter as people get back to school, etc.
Posted by
OP
spokane
10 posts
thank you JJ Gurley and Anita. Rick sent me The Sessions web site - it is robust! And musicians who are traveling add their dates and their instruments. I will report back to the Forum after our trip in September.
Posted by
Chicago
583 posts
In 1997, I visited the relatives of a coworker in County Sligo. I learned from them that Tubbercurry (sometimes spelled Tobercurry), Co. Sligo, has a rich tradition of Irish music because it hosts the famed South Sligo Summer School (https://www.southsligosummerschool.com/). However, that's going on in July, two months before your trip, when concerts associated with the school are held. According to my friends, however, Tubbercurry and surrounding towns have great Irish music throughout the year. I heard great trad music in nearby Ballymote in October.
Posted by
Chicago
583 posts
An addendum: The Galway Arts Festival will overlap during your trip: https://www.giaf.ie/. I've never been to it in my 5 trips to Ireland, but I'm told it's fabulous.