Galway's reputation for traditional music is earned in a handful of pubs where musicians sit down around a table and play for the evening. Knowing which pubs those are, and how a session works, is most of what you need.
What a session actually is
A traditional session is not a concert. Musicians, usually fiddles, flutes, whistles, a guitar or bouzouki and sometimes a bodhrán, gather in a corner and play sets of tunes together. Some are booked by the pub, others just turn up. There is no stage and no ticket; you buy a drink and listen.
The etiquette is simple. Don't sit in the seats around the musicians unless you are invited, keep the conversation down when someone sings, and don't shout out requests: the musicians choose the tunes. If you play yourself, ask before you join in.
Pubs known for their music
Tigh Neachtain
The painted pub on the corner of Quay Street and Cross Street, in the old town. Small rooms, a snug and a long-standing tradition of sessions.
Taaffes
On Shop Street, right on the main pedestrian route through the town. Easy to find and busy, with regular sessions.
The Crane Bar
Across the river in the West End, on Sea Road. Known among musicians for the sessions upstairs, a short walk from the tourist streets.
Monroe's Tavern
On Dominick Street, also in the West End. Larger, and known for traditional music and set dancing.
Tig Cóilí
On Mainguard Street, near the Latin Quarter. A small pub with regular sessions.
How to fit it into a day trip
Our Cliffs of Moher and Galway tour reaches Galway in the afternoon, with a walking tour of the old town and time of your own after it. If music matters to you, tell us when you book: every tour is customisable, and your guide can plan the afternoon so you spend more of it in the town, or make the day longer.
Tip: the West End, across the Wolfe Tone Bridge from the Latin Quarter, is where many locals go. It is a five-minute walk and usually less crowded.
