Please sign in to post.

Which Dublin Pubs to Bring Daughter for Trad Music

Hi everybody. My daughter and I will be in Dublin 4 nights. I booked us at the Clarence thinking that it would be the ultimate to overlook the River Liffy and to be right in Temple Bar. She (obviously) and I don't drink (being Irish I will have just a glass of Guinness). We wanted to stay out late listening to traditional music. To which Dublin pubs do you recommend I take my daughter (this is a mother daughter trip) who will be 16 in September?

Posted by
2299 posts

Although not for everyone, I enjoyed the musical pub crawl. Not necessarily the highest quality music, but very educational and a great foundation to appreciate good Irish music. See Rick's book for details - it starts at Gogarty's in Temple bar and hits several different pubs along the way. PS, they serve sodas at bars, but don't order your daughter a cider - it's alcoholic, not apple juice (you should try it, it's fantastic).

Posted by
319 posts

I agree that the Musical Pub Crawl waws a lot of fun.

For authentic Irish music, you can't beat Cobblestones. Musicians gather there just about every night for a session, starting at about 930. There's not a lot of room, so I'd recommend getting there early to grab a seat.

I wouldn't recommend spending too much time in Temple Bar. It's a rowdy crowd to expose your daugher to and you won't find much in the way of trad music there.

Enjoy your trip!

Posted by
484 posts

I have no idea how strongly it is enforced but no one under the age of 18 in allowed to stay in a bar after 9:00P.M.

Posted by
208 posts

I'd recommend the Arlington Hotel for an "Irish dinner" followed by traditional Irish dancing. If you can book it well in advance, make sure you get seats close to the dancers - the dinner was around 30 Euro/person - but for us, it was worth it for the food and atmosphere.

That being said, you can see the dancing for free - (it starts around 10ish) but the diners have first dibs on the best views and NO ONE will move for you. I had to elbow a few people who got in front of me after standing for almost an hour.

Posted by
1 posts

We just returned from Ireland and we had three teenagers with us. We also went on the pub crawl and the girls had a great time. It was educational but it had a cozy atmosphere and allowed our girls the comfort to stand up and actually step dance to the music. Great fun!! The pub that it initiated from was fun early on but turned into a crazy scene later. Temple bar is ridden with roudy, drunken youngsters that make NYC's Village look like a library. Beware!!