Traditional Music Session at Haydens Bar, Dungannon

What to Expect

Haydens on the Thornhill Road, a few minutes out of Dungannon, is a country bar with a long running traditional music and set dancing night on Tuesdays, and a second traditional session on Thursdays. This is a players’ session rather than a booked act on a stage: musicians sit in around a table, tunes are called between them, and the set dancing takes over a cleared floor as the night goes on. It has run for decades and the crowd is a mix of regular dancers, players who come every week and people who call in to listen.

There is no cover charge and no ticket. The session is described as suitable for everyone from beginners to experienced players, so bringing a fiddle, flute, box or whistle and joining the circle is normal rather than presumptuous. Set dancing is the other half of the night and is the reason the Tuesday session has stayed a fixture: it is one of the few standing set dancing nights left in this part of Tyrone. The bar also runs a Wind Down Wednesday with live acoustic music, giving the week three separate music nights. Because it is a session rather than a promoted gig, there is nothing published in advance beyond the weekly pattern, so it is worth ringing the bar if you are travelling any distance.

Good to Know

• Traditional music and set dancing every Tuesday evening. Next date Tuesday 18 August 2026
• A second traditional music session runs on Thursdays
• Wind Down Wednesday brings live acoustic music midweek
• Venue: Haydens Bar, 106 Thornhill Road, Dungannon
• No cover charge
• Open to all levels, from beginners to experienced players. Bring an instrument if you play
• Recurring weekly. This page is dated to the next Tuesday session

Getting There

Haydens is on the Thornhill Road outside Dungannon, in the townland country between the town and Donaghmore, so it is a drive rather than a walk from the town centre and there is parking at the bar. Dungannon itself is signposted from junction 15 of the M1, roughly forty minutes from Belfast and half an hour from Armagh. There is no bus service out the Thornhill Road in the evening, so a taxi from Dungannon town centre is the practical option if you are not driving.