Nightly Trad Sessions at Gus O'Connor's Pub, Doolin

What to Expect

Gus O’Connor’s on Fisherstreet is the pub that built Doolin’s reputation as a traditional music village, and it still advertises music nightly on its own site. The session is the backbone of the place: fiddles, flutes, concertinas, banjos, bodhrans and, on a good night, uilleann pipes, played around a table rather than from a stage. Players from Doolin and the wider North Clare area rotate through, and visiting musicians who can hold a tune are generally made welcome.

Evening sessions get going around 9:30pm and run late. Through the summer the pub also runs an afternoon session on Sundays, which suits anyone who wants to hear the music without waiting until closing time. There is no ticket and no cover charge: you buy a drink and find a seat, or more realistically a place to stand, because the room fills fast from June through September.

The single most useful piece of advice for Gus O’Connor’s in high season is to come early. Doolin takes coach traffic from the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands ferries all day, and by nine o’clock on a July or August night the pub is full. Off season, from roughly October onwards, it thins out and the music arguably improves.

Good to Know

• Sessions run seven nights a week from February to November, and at weekends all year round, from around 9:30 PM
• Summer Sunday afternoon session as well as the evening one
• Free to attend, no booking and no cover charge
• Arrive well before 9pm in July and August if you want a seat
• Food is served earlier in the evening; the music room fills once the kitchen quietens
• Check gusoconnorsdoolin.com or phone 065 707 4168 before travelling out of season

Getting There

Gus O’Connor’s is in Fisherstreet, the lower part of Doolin village, on the R479 in North Clare. Doolin is about 8 km north of the Cliffs of Moher and roughly 75 km from Limerick and 70 km from Galway. There is parking in the village, though it is tight in summer. Bus Eireann route 350 links Doolin with Ennistymon, Lisdoonvarna, Ballyvaughan, Galway and Ennis, and the Doolin Ferry pier for the Aran Islands is a short walk from the pub.