Hi to all
A quick back story... This is our 4th trip to Ireland and have been north, east, south, west. My husband has driven each time and is very good. We are meeting our daughter and spending 3 nights in Westport before dropping her at Shannon airport. We then have 4 nights to spend anywhere and will fly out of Dublin. We would like to possibly have 1 town as focal point and do day trips. We have never done the Aran Islands and considered a day/or/overnight to Inishmore via Doolin. Possible towns?? Sligo, Gallway, Ennis, Killaloe? Would love to hear your thoughts. This trip is purely pubs, music, and fun. We have toured most of the popular stuff.
Thanks to all
Posted by
Irving
3457 posts
Inishmore is not about pubs, music and fun. It’s about riding a bike and seeing the cliffs. I feel it’s more than a day trip but not everyone agrees with me. One or two nights there would be ideal but you might get bored.
Galway is not an attraction but is a jumping off point to visit Inishmore and the Connemara region.
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
1366 posts
You don't say when you're going, which is none of my business, of course. Look to see who has a music festival or summer school on when you're there. Here is a list I found for this year. Caution: it isn't exclusive to Ireland:
https://www.irishmusicmagazine.com/links/tours-festivals/
If you haven't been to Cork, it has a lively pub scene. https://corkheritagepubs.com Day trips to Cobh and Blarney are easy to do from Cork, as well.
Posted by
Mountains of S. Oregon
966 posts
We spent one night on Inishmore and had music, pub, and fun. The music might get scarce off season. Also, the ferry from Rosseveal (Galway) is far more reliable than Doolin.
Galway and Doolin will have good music. pubs, and fun all year.
Killaloe was also music, pubs, and fun although it needs to be on Tuesday or maybe Sunday.
sessions.org is good for finding towns with trad music. If you want nightly music in walking distance in your base city, I'd suggest Doolin or Galway. It really depends on the time of year.