We will be travelling in Ireland in May. I came across this festival in Ennis that I thought might be fun. WE are going to Ireland for the music, the people, and the scenery. If you have been to this festival in years past, I would appreciate your input.
Are we just as well to enjoy spontaneous music in pubs in other areas of Ireland. Ennis was not on our itinerary but we can make it work if it's worth going. We will be staying in Dingle for 3-4 nights and Galway as well as Dublin and a few other smaller towns so I anticipate that we will have lots of great music in a less structured way. Having said that, we have attended festivals in other countries we have visited and it has always been a great way to feel like part of the community if only for a few days.
Perhaps you know of other festivals or events during the month of May. I have not seen much else. We are interested in Irish music (traditional and contemporary) and Irish dancing, whether one person dancing impromptu in a pub or a dance team at a theatre.
Thanking you in advance for sharing your knowledge and experiences.
Posted by
Mountains of S. Oregon
741 posts
We go to Ireland for the trad, as well. Last May we scored authentic sessions on 17 of 19 nights in ten different towns. Try thesession.org for leads, and then invest time in pub websites and/or facebook pages.
Our next trip will (if luck holds) hit 14/19 but we're on Cape Clear for two nights and I don't expect the music to happen in May, dragging the score down.
Personally, a good session is plenty, and a festival can create bigger crowds, scarcer accommodations and restaurant problems.
If we were in the area, I'd prefer to visit Ennis in the days before or after the festival when the musicians might be in town, but the tourists aren't.