Good evening,
I am doing some research for summer 2024 to tour Ireland. I'd like to visit the pubs and best trad music places. Should I just hop on a bus and jump off at any town? Any suggestions for an itinerary? I'll probably visit historical sites too but I'm going for the pubs and music.
Cheers,
Research.
Obtain a copy of the RS guide to Ireland. Which areas of Ireland are you interested in?
Do you intend to visit N. Ireland?
One of the things you learn is that public transport in Eire takes time.
Quick Google of “pubs in Ireland hosting craic” came up with these links;
https://wanderyourway.com/my-10-favorite-pubs-in-ireland-where-you-can-enjoy-the-craic/
We were in Ireland this May, and we had good trad sessions for 17 out of 20 nights. I planned our entire trip around music pubs using the website https://thesession.org/sessions/search?day=&q=sligo and by visiting individual Facebook accounts for the bars. The three strikeouts were in Portrush and Dunfanaghy and the Facebook info was a fib. Depending on the month, music is not necessarily nightly (May, June, Sep).
I juggled our itinerary to land in towns on the nights I could confirm music. Doing it 6-9 months in advance can be challenging :-) Luckily, many pubs have long-standing music nights, often year round.
Procedurally, I look for towns I want to visit, then find the most likely music pubs, then search for lodging within walking distance of that/those pubs. You'll have a more complicated procedure since you'll be public transit bound.
Our second favorite thing is Neolithic and historical stuff, which is often not on a bus route, which is why we always rent a car.
