When it comes to traditional Irish music in the heart of Dublin, it’s impossible to beat The Cobblestone. Resolutely outmoded (“an old man’s pub,” according to the youth) and with Irish culture seeping from its walls, the best time to secure a seat is between 5pm-7pm – any time after that and it’s standing room only. What to expect? Trad music of every stripe, from sublime uilleann pipe playing to pin-drop-quiet unaccompanied singing (known as sean-nós, Gaelic for ‘old style’).

Known with justification as “Cork’s House of Music,” the Corner House hosts regular sessions throughout the week. Many of Cork's best-known musicians gather at tables and deliver tunes at a no-nonsense, energetic pace. One of the many pleasures is the open welcome offered to visiting players – there are no egos on display, only instinctive, often otherworldly skills. Between the music and walls adorned with decades of memorabilia, you don’t soak up the atmosphere here, you breathe it in.

What is better than a genuine traditional Irish music pub? How about a genuine traditional Irish music pub owned by a member of The Chieftains, one of Ireland’s most prized groups? Flautist Matt Molloy has been at the vanguard of traditional music for decades (before joining The Chieftains in 1979, he was a member of The Bothy Band and Planxty), so his revered pub in the coastal town of Westport is viewed as the most indispensable if you want the best of “the pure drop” hooked into your system.

Much loved by Altan’s Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (one of the most highly regarded musicians in traditional music), Teach Hiúdaí Beag in the northwestern district of Gweedore exudes an atmosphere that should be bottled and sold. To experience a seisiún filled with native and visiting musicians is to be transported to a different time and place. As befits the home village of Ní Mhaonaigh and Clannad, the pub is Ireland’s best-known for unapologetic fun and games (otherwise known as the craic).

In the coastal village of Doolin, McDermott’s has an enviable reputation for nightly sessions featuring some of Ireland’s most gifted musicians. One such is uilleann piper Michael “Blackie” O’Connell, regarded as “king of the pipers.” In May 2021, Irish actor Fiona Shaw selected it as one of her cultural highlights for The Guardian newspaper. The music, she said, was presented “with such a ferocious acceleration of excitement that you are sweating just listening to it.”

It is known as a “country pub in the middle of a city,” but Tig Choili in Galway is much more than that. It is quite likely the only pub you’ll have a drink in where the bar staff come out from behind the counter to perform with the musicians. With twice daily trad sessions presented in a standing-room-only environment, it’s no surprise the venue attracts revered traditional musicians such as Sharon Shannon, Frankie Gavin, Mairtín O’Connor and Dessie O’Halloran.

Belfast's Sunflower is full of charm, humor (via the sign “no topless dancing, Ulster has suffered enough”) and devoid of tricks to attract tourists. While history is, quite literally, on its doorstep, inside the pub a city’s musical legacy is delved into night after night. Thursday’s trad/folk club is a highlight, with guests often joined by audience members. There is, however, another reason to visit—a regular performing musician is John McSherry, one of the world’s finest uileann pipers.

Regulars to this pub in the Dublin neighborhood of Stoneybatter (“a quirky little fortress of cool in the heart of the city,” notes Time Out) enjoy pints of Guinness that taste like cream and some of the best trad sessions in an Irish urban location. Taking place on Sunday and Monday nights, music acts as distinguished as Lisa O’Neill, Killian O’Flaherty, and brothers Brian and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn (of Ye Vagabonds) have transformed the perception of trad music as a stationary art form.

Named after an old rural tradition of pest control by accepting the titular birds in exchange for money, this renowned pub in the town of Sligo is compact, to say the least. Despite its size, it’s filled not only with Celtic artworks and quirky architectural design but also Irish traditional music that yearns to be experienced. If you’re lucky, you might even hear the sublime, soaring fiddle playing of Sligo-based Steve Wickham, currently of The Waterboys and Sligo folk/roots group, No Crows.

“All kinds of high class drinks and groceries” are the unmissable words on the facing wall of French’s pub in the southeastern town of Wexford, a family-run business operating since 1890. On entering, other words and phrases spring to mind: uncomplicated, untouched, the origin of the species. The clincher occurs every Thursday night when the pub hosts traditional music sessions attended by committed amateurs as well as world-class players such as uileann piper Mark Redmond.