Slow Sessions 2026 - Traditional Music for All Levels

What to Expect

Slow Sessions is Droichead Arts Centre’s long-running weekly gathering for traditional players who want to build a session repertoire without the pressure of session tempo. The tunes are taken slowly, broken down and repeated until the room can carry them, which makes the session usable by beginners, by players coming back to an instrument after years away, and by anyone who reads music better than they pick tunes up by ear. The centre states the sessions are open to players of any instrument and at any level, so fiddles, whistles, flutes, boxes, banjos, concertinas and guitars all turn up.

Facilitator Brendan McCreanor is a multi-instrumentalist and an accomplished uilleann piper with a long teaching record in the north east. Alongside the tunes he talks through where each one came from, its regional style and how it has changed in circulation, and the selection deliberately takes in jigs, reels, slides, polkas and hornpipes as well as tunes with a County Louth connection. Sheet music and notes are circulated in advance by email so players can look at the material before the session rather than sight-reading on the day. Each session runs 90 minutes to two hours with a short break in the middle.

Good to Know

• Runs weekly at noon at Droichead Arts Centre, Stockwell Street, Drogheda
• The 2026 series finishes on Saturday 29 August, so only a handful of dates remain
• Sessions last 90 minutes to two hours with a five minute break
• Open to all instruments and all levels of experience
• Capacity is limited and booking in advance is advised through Droichead Arts Centre
• Sheet music is emailed out ahead of each session
• Facilitated by Brendan McCreanor, multi-instrumentalist and uilleann piper

Getting There

Droichead Arts Centre sits on Stockwell Street in central Drogheda, a short walk from West Street and Bolton Square. Drogheda MacBride railway station is about 15 minutes on foot across the Boyne, and Bus Eireann and Matthews services from Dublin, Dundalk and Navan stop in the town centre. Drivers coming off the M1 should use junction 9 or 10 and park in the Scotch Hall or Laurence Street car parks, both within a few minutes of the door.