Produced by Lonely Planet for Traditional Irish Dancers
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Musical Landscapes Produced by Lonely Planet for Traditional Irish dancers Musical Landscapes Trip at a Glance From the busker-packed streets of Galway, this rip-roaring ride takes you around Clare and the Aran Islands to discover fine traditional-music pubs, venues and festivals. Duration 5 Days 1 Galway City 2 Ennis Designated music venues in thrall to the Medieval town simply bursting with fine 139km/86 miles heartfelt outpourings of the singer-songwriter. pubs featuring traditional Irish music. 3 Miltown Malbay Home to one of Ireland’s great Best Time to Go trad music events in July. Summer 4 Ennistymon For outdoor céilidh Charming country village with (traditional dancing) roaring cascades and music at and music festivals. every turn. 1 5 Kilfenora Tiny village with a strong music tradition. Essential Photo 8 6 Lisdoonvarna Kilfenora Nonstop song and dance during 9 Nightly set-dancing the international matchmaking 6 at the crossroads, festival. 7 5 in Vaughan’s of Kilfenora. 7 Doolin 4 The epicentre of traditional Irish music. Best for Song 3 2 8 Inishmór Aran Island with lively pubs Ennis and restaurants. Ennis, on summer nights, where local 9 Inisheer musicians ply their End-of-the-earth landscape and wares. traditional drumming festival. Fiddler in Galway City, County Galway 1 Galway City on the corner of Cooke’s Lane, sees a fine bunch of musicians Galway has a young student rattling even the stone floors population and a largely creative almost every night in summer, and County Clare’s community that give a palpable the plain-tile-fronted John O’Dea energy to the place. Colourful Best Music Festival is a hideout for local musicians medieval streets packed with serious about their trad sessions. Half the population of heritage shops, sidewalk cafes and Cois na hAbhna, a pilgrimage point Miltown Malbay seems pubs ensure there’s never a dull for traditional music and culture, to be part of the annual moment. Galway’s pub selection has frequent performances and a Willie Clancy Irish Summer is second to none and some swing full range of classes in dance and School, a tribute to a native to tunes every night of the week. music, an archive, and a library of son and one of Ireland’s Crane Bar, an atmospheric old Irish traditional music, song, dance greatest pipers. The eight- pub west of the Corrib, is the best and folklore. Traditional music day festival begins on the spot in Galway to catch an informal aficionados might like to time first Saturday in July, when céilidh (traditional dancing) a visit with Fleadh Nua, a lively impromptu sessions occur most nights. Or for something festival held in late May. day and night, the pubs more contemporary, Róisín Dubh are packed and Guinness is the place to hear emerging is consumed by the barrel international rock and singer- 3 Miltown Malbay – up to 10,000 enthusiasts songwriters. from around the globe turn Miltown Malbay was a resort up for the event. Specialist favoured by well-to-do Victorians, workshops and classes Trip Highlight though the beach itself is 2km underpin the event; don’t be 2 Ennis south at Spanish Point. To the surprised to attend a recital north of the Point, there are Ennis (Inis), a medieval town in with 40 noted fiddlers. beautiful walks amid the low cliffs, origin, simply bursts with pubs coves and isolated beaches. featuring trad music. Brogan’s, Traditional Irish music session A classically friendly place in the Cooley’s House, host to music most visiting the local spa to swallow chatty Irish way, Miltown Malbay nights in summer and trad nights on its waters. Down by the river at hosts the annual Willie Clancy Irish Wednesdays and Fridays in winter. Roadside Tavern, third-generation Music Festival, one of Ireland’s great owner Peter Curtin knows every trad music events. Lynch’s Bar (aka 5 Kilfenora story worth telling. There are trad Friel’s) is one of a couple of genuine sessions daily in summer. Look for a Underappreciated Kilfenora (Cill old-style places with occasional trad trail beside the pub that runs 400m Fhionnúrach) lies on the southern sessions. down to two wells by the river. One is fringe of the Burren. It’s a small high in sulphur, the other iron. Next place, with a diminutive 12th-century Trip Highlight door, Burren Smokehouse is where cathedral. Kilfenora is best known 4 you can learn about the ancient Irish Ennistymon for its high crosses. The town has art of oak-smoking salmon. Ennistymon (Inis Díomáin) is a a strong music tradition that rivals timeless country village where that of Doolin but without the 7 people go about their business crowds. The Kilfenora Céili Band is Doolin (which involves a lot of cheerful a celebrated community that’s been Doolin gets plenty of press as a chatting) barely noticing the playing for 100 years, its traditional centre of Irish traditional music, characterful buildings lining Main music featuring fiddles, banjos, owing to a trio of pubs that have St. And behind this facade there’s squeezeboxes and more. Vaughan’s sessions through the year. McGann’s a surprise: the roaring Cascades, Pub has a big reputation – there’s has all the classic touches of a the stepped falls of the River music in the bar every night during full-on Irish music pub; the action Inagh. Not to be missed, Eugene’s the summer and the adjacent barn is often spills out onto the street. is an intimate, cosy pub and has the scene of terrific dance sessions Right on the water, O’Connor’s, a a trademark collection of visiting on Thursday and Sunday nights. sprawling favourite, has a rollicking cards covering its walls, alongside atmosphere. It easily gets the most photographs of famous writers and 6 Lisdoonvarna crowded and has the highest tourist musicians. The inspiring collection Lisdoonvarna (Lios Dún Bhearna), quotient. MacDiarmada’s, also of whiskey will have you smoothly often just called ‘Lisdoon’, is well known as McDermott’s, a simple debating the relative merit of various known for its mineral springs. red-and-white old pub, can be the drops. Another great old pub is For centuries people have been rowdy favourite of locals. When the Inishmór, County Galway fiddles get going, it can seem like a on weekends year-round. Informal Turas to the Well of Enda, which scene out of a John Ford movie. music sessions, turf fires and a leads to an ever-burbling spring broad terrace with harbour views in a remote rocky expanse in the 8 Inishmór make Tí Joe Mac’s a local favourite, southwest. For five days in late while the American Bar has live June the island reverberates to the The Aran Islands sing their own music every night in summer. thunder of traditional drums during siren song to thousands of travellers Craiceann Inis Oírr International each year who find their desolate Trip Highlight Bodhrán Summer School. Bodhrán beauty beguiling. The largest and 9 master classes, workshops and most accessible of the islands, Inisheer pub sessions are held as well as Inishmór, is home to ancient fort On Inisheer (Inis Oírr), the Irish dancing. Rory Conneely’s Dún Aengus, one of the oldest smallest of the Aran Islands, the atmospheric inn Tigh Ruaírí hosts archaeological remains in Ireland, breathtakingly beautiful end-of- live music sessions and, here since as well as some lively pubs and the-earth landscape adds to the 1897, Tigh Ned is a welcoming, restaurants, particularly in the only island’s distinctly mystical aura. unpretentious place with harbour town, Kilronan. Irish remains the Steeped in mythology, traditional views and an irregular schedule of local tongue, but most locals speak rituals are still very much respected lively traditional music. English with visitors. Joe Watty’s here. Locals continue to carry Bar is the best pub in Kilronan, with out a pilgrimage with potential trad sessions nightly in summer and healing powers known as the Produced by Lonely Planet for Tourism Ireland. All editorial views are those of Lonely Planet alone and reflect our policy of editorial independence and impartiality..