Irish Music — From Trad Sessions to U2
Music is Ireland's heartbeat. In every pub, every village, somewhere a Trad Session is happening: Musicians meet spontaneously and play — fiddle, tin whistle, uilleann pipes (Irish bagpipes), bodhrán (frame drum), guitar, banjo. The pieces are reels, jigs, hornpipes — some hundreds of years old.
Best places for Trad Sessions:
- Galway: Tigh Neachtain, Crane Bar, Monroe's Tavern
- Dublin: The Cobblestone (Smithfield), O'Donoghue's (Merrion Row)
- Doolin, Co. Clare: Gus O'Connor's, McGann's — Ireland's trad capital
- Dingle: Almost every pub has sessions in the summer
Beyond trad: U2, The Cranberries, Sinéad O'Connor, Van Morrison, Hozier, The Pogues, Enya, Glen Hansard, Fontaines D.C. — for a country of this size, an incredible density of world-class talent.
Riverdance (premiered at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994) revolutionized Irish step dancing worldwide. The Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann is the largest traditional music festival in the world — one week, 400,000 visitors, free of charge.
💡 Tipp
For the most authentic trad experience: Don't go to the most touristy pub, but to the one next to it. Don't talk during the music. And when the session ends, buy the musicians a round — it's the best way to say thank you.
