my dream of an Irish pub:

[300win]

Not set in stone yet, but me and the wife might be able to go on a trip to Ireland this year. Let me say up front I'm a Bluegrass picker, but love Scoth/Irish rells, jigs, hornpipes, all of it. I've even written 3 or 4 tunes inspired by the music from the old country. My wife ancestory is Scoth/Irish, mine is also with English, Dutch, and Native American in a small portion. I would kind of like to have input from anyone who has gone there or lives there. We would be going to Dublin, I would like to be able to take my mandolin to some of the pubs and pick some with the real Irish if I could. I told my wife that's all I would want to do for the most part, she could do the site-seeing, and I would tag along on occasion. To me that would be one of my dreams come true. I'd like to do that to be able to learn some tunes and riffs, and maybe leave a little Monroe and Bush behind. I'm no novice have been picking for over 40 years, so what do ya'll think, good idea or not ? Like I said Scotch/Irish music is something I truly love, as that is the roots of southern USA mountain music. Heck I like all acoustic music if it's played well, but I was raised Bluegrass, also like acoustic Jazz, but anyway, are there any of ya'll on here that have done this same thing ? Thanks for the input.

[Eddie Sheehy]

If you can get to a Fleadh - a kind of open-air/pub-crawl music festival you will have ample opportunity to play and pick up tunes. However, going to "jams" at tourist pubs will not afford you any real participation. Hit the Irish Tourist and Music sites and see what's going to be on while you are there...

[300win]

If you can get to a Fleadh - a kind of open-air/pub-crawl music festival you will have ample opportunity to play and pick up tunes. However, going to "jams" at tourist pubs will not afford you any real participation. Hit the Irish Tourist and Music sites and see what's going to be on while you are there...

Appreciate the info Eddie. I'll look into that. I kind of had it in mind that it might be like here, picking on the street corner, someone would come up and join you, then another. No I realize that I could not bust in on a band getting paid to play in a pub, but thought maybe I could find a place where they would let you sit in a while if you were good enough to hang with them.

[Jill McAuley]

Check out The Cobblestone, a great pub in Dublin, easily accessible via the LUAS train (our light rail system in town) You'd want to get off at the "Smithfield" stop and then cut thru what was the old Smithfield Marketplace, the Cobblestone would be at the far end of the old square (well now its a new, gentrified, rather soul-less square but how and ever...) There are regular sessions there. Another good pub for a session is Hughes on Chancery St. Nearer to the time of your departure you could check out the listings at www.irishmusicmagazine.com - they have an events calendar so you might be able to find out if there's anything going on in or around Dublin while you are there. The Seamus Ennis Cultural Centre out in Fingal (North Dublin) regularly has live trad music too.

Cheers,
Jill

[300win]

Thanks Jill. I only hope this trip works out for me and the wife. We've never been out of the country before, and I've never flown on a jet. I just want to get there and pick. I joked to my wife that I might have such a good time picking I would'nt want to leave. Of course I think I might like some of the liquid refreshments in the pubs. I do have a fondness for good Scotch-Irish whiskey. Our oldest son who is a Marine came back from deployment the last time, thier flight stopped off in Dublin, thier good commanding officer allowed them to go to the bar in the airport where he purchased a very fine bottle of single malt.

[Gutbucket]

While there is great music in the pubs of Dublin, and almost everywhere in Ireland, check out the western parts of the country. County Clare and the Dingle peninsula are hot beds of great music. The pubs are smaller and the locals are great. Impromptu sessions spring up almost ever night. Different regions have different styles of music. The most noticable being the styles of fiddleing. And no crowds. Wish I was back there now.

[Fweezle]

The wife and I were over in Ireland in 2006 and had a blast. Both of us have deep Irish roots (my wifes grandfather was born there) and we had such a good time over there. From our experience, we decided to stay out of the big touristy places and see the "real" country. We rented a car and just drove, when it got dark we looked for a bed and breakfast. We flew into Shannon and made a big circle in the south. You might have better luck finding music sessions in the smaller towns than in the big cities. That's not to say you won't find any in the cities, but more than not you'll find better opportunities outside the cities. Every pub we walked into seemed to have a scheduled session for the evening or one lonely musician in the corner practicing.

[Mandophyte]

If you can get to a Fleadh

Eddie, how to you pronounce Fleadh?

TA!

[Jim MacDaniel]

While I love Dublin, I agree with Gutbucket that you should also spend some time out west. Remote sites like Dingle, the Burrens, and Westport feel a world away from Dublin, and each have their own unique charm as well. Plus we really enjoy our time spent in Galway City, and make a point to spend time there each trip to "the old sod".

[Eddie Sheehy]

Fleadh = FLAH (long flat ah sound) - in Gaeilge the L is flattened by the succeeding E

[Johnozouk]

I was in Dublin and Galway in late October and early November with mandolin in hand and had a great time.

If you are only going to Dublin there are several pubs with sessions that are all within a fairly easy walk from the city center. Cobblestone, mentioned already, is a bit of a hike from the city center but not too bad. They have sessions every night. The night I went there last November there was a small group and they played very fast and a lot of unfamiliar tunes--I mostly listened. Hughes has sessions, but I did not make it there. My favorite place was O'Donoghues on Baggott Street. They have sessions every night. Folks were very friendly. Monday night is a bit of a slower session, but not real slow. The other nights the playing could get quite brisk. Sunday night the session starts around 5:30 pm and is led by Joe Foley, who makes great bouzoukis and related instruments. And, pints are only 1.5 euros for musicians.

Check out www.thesession.org and you can search for sessions in Dublin. I think there are some new ones that have just started. Or, you can find sessions elsewhere if you decide to go beyond the big city. You can also search through the discussions and find some good information about session etiquette that will help you understand what is going on and let you fit in better.

No matter what, you will have a great time.

John

[Bertram Henze]

Fleadh = FLAH (long flat ah sound) - in Gaeilge the L is flattened by the succeeding E

Plus, the D is breathed away by the succeeding H.

To OP: Refer to this guide and figure why Dun Laoghaire (town near Dublin) is pronounced "Dun Leery".

Bertram

[Eddie Sheehy]

Dunleery is the English pronounciation... In Gaeilge it's DOON LAYIREH the G is "softened" by a Buailte (Seimhithe or Seimhiu as the M is in this explanation) the R has a"slender" sound dictated by the slender vowels around it. The H succeeding a Consonant to soften it is realtively modern. When I was a kid - and for centuries before - a dot was written above the consonant to be "softened". Softened can be either silenced, or - as in b and m given a V sound, C and G can have a guttural hard sound, P gets an F sound...

I knew all this would come in handy some day...

[Jim MacDaniel]

Wow, and I thought English had a lot of rules to remember -- that I understand since English is a bit of a mutt language, due to its Latin, Norman, and Saxon influences.

BTW, my favorite impossible-to-pronounce-correctly-until-someone-tells-you-how word is ceilidh, and I almost bought one of these "K. Lee" mandolins a while back just for the in-joke...

[300win]

There are sure some smart people on here. Kind of intimidates a person like me with just a GED. But hey, hang around great musicans= get better, hang around with smart people= get smarter, at least I hope that works in my case. thanks everyone.

[Jim MacDaniel]

I'm not smart -- I just have a good memory

[Eddie Sheehy]

Me neither... just useless info that was beaten into me in primary school...

[Jim MacDaniel]

That brings back memories -- so you went to a Catholic school as well?

[Eddie Sheehy]

Yep. Right now it's making the headlines in Ireland...

[Jim MacDaniel]

Yeah -- I was reminded of the film The Magdalene Sisters when that report was released. My Sister Mary ruler-across-the-knuckles was a light-weight compared to those "caretakers".

[gw16]

Dublin and other main tourist hubs will have lots of sessions, but I found (as mentioned before) the best stuff to be on the west coast. Doolin is considered the capital of the traditional scene and there are some wonderful players in the pubs down there and they are very accustomed to tourists because of this rep. Not to mention its a fantastic area for touring - should keep the wife happy as well. If you're planning on driving yourself around be really careful. Spend the extra money on an automatic transmission so you just have to concentrate on not running into things I would suggest. On the motorways in Ireland the common signs are "Guiness - Makes you strong!" and "there were <x number> of people killed on this road last year" Also, invest in an Irish Gaelic road map. The last time I was there, on the west coast, all the road signs are in Irish Gaelic (I believe it's a law there now but I might be wrong). It's not like the names are remotely similar to their english translations so you probably won't be able to figure it out. People in the pubs are very friendly (just like the rumors) and more so in the smaller centers. Dublin (in the Temple Bar area) is a gong show on the weekends as it's a big drink-fest for Europeans of all kinds so avoid that if you're not in the mood. It can get pretty crazy and sometimes a bit on the violent side so if that's not your scene steer away from it. Co's Kerry, Clare, Galway and Connemara have fabulous towns along the west coast and you'll have the time of your life there. In most cases anyone is welcomed into a session so by all means, ask politely and I'm sure it won't be a problem. Sorry for being so wordy, and enjoy yourself!

[Brumo]

Another vote here for Hughes' pub in Dublin. North side of the Liffey. I went there last April with a couple of friends and we were welcomed warmly. The session is on Friday night if I remember correctly. Excellent musicians and a great atmosphere. Not touristy at all. If you are headed to Sligo I could likely direct you to some sessions there as well.

[Jill McAuley]

Dublin and other main tourist hubs will have lots of sessions, but I found (as mentioned before) the best stuff to be on the west coast. Doolin is considered the capital of the traditional scene and there are some wonderful players in the pubs down there and they are very accustomed to tourists because of this rep.

It's all perception I guess - I find Doolin to be too "touristy", but then again, I'm Irish, so maybe it's more noticeable to me. It is indeed beautiful around that way though. Gotta put a word in for Ennis, Co. Clare - great sessions to be had there.

Cheers,
Jill

[300win]

Thanks to all who responded to my question, I'll keep it all in mind, just hope it works out that we can make the trip.

[martinedwards]

Come North!!!

we have loads of pubs wih sessions!!