Boyne Sessions - Sunday Traditional Music at McHughes, Drogheda

What to Expect

The Boyne Sessions is the Sunday evening traditional session at McHughes on the Cord Road, starting at 6:30pm. Sunday evening is the classic slot for a session in an Irish town: early enough that people who are working on Monday can come out, late enough that the day is done. It has become one of the fixed points in Drogheda’s trad week alongside the Thursday night session in the same pub and the Thursday afternoon session in Barney Mac’s a few doors away.

Sessions like this run on regulars, with a core of players who show up most weeks and a rotating cast of visitors around them. Tunes are called informally around the table and picked up by whoever knows them, and singers are usually given a turn at some point in the night. Anyone travelling with an instrument is welcome to sit in, and the usual session etiquette applies: listen for a round or two, join when you have the tune, and let the person who started a set finish it. There is no admission charge and no booking, this is a pub session rather than a ticketed gig.

Good to Know

• Every Sunday from 6:30pm at McHughes, 3 Cord Road, Drogheda
• Next session Sunday 16 August 2026
• Open session, musicians welcome to bring an instrument and join
• No door charge listed and no booking needed
• McHughes also runs a Thursday night session from 9pm to 11:30pm
• Listed on the Drogheda Gig Guide as a weekly recurring traditional session

Getting There

McHughes sits at 3 Cord Road on the north side of Drogheda, a few minutes uphill from the town centre. Drogheda MacBride railway station on the Dublin to Belfast line is about a 20 minute walk over the Boyne, with a reduced Sunday service, so check the timetable if you are relying on the train. Bus Eireann and Matthews coaches stop in the town centre. Drivers should exit the M1 at junction 10 for Drogheda North, and there is on street parking on the surrounding residential roads.