A traditional Irish music session is one of the hardest things in the country to explain and one of the easiest to fall for. There is no stage, no set list and often no announcement: a few musicians settle into a corner of a pub, someone starts a tune, and the others join in if they know it. For visitors and for the Irish abroad, it can feel like a secret handshake.
Happily, a growing community of musicians, archivists and storytellers is documenting that world and sharing it online. Whether you are planning a trip around the music or simply missing home, these are the people and projects worth following.
Why session documentation matters
Sessions are a living, oral tradition. Tunes travel from player to player, regional styles shift, and much of what is played is never written down. Recording and explaining that tradition, with respect for the people who carry it, helps newcomers understand how it works and keeps older recordings from being forgotten.
The Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA)
The Irish Traditional Music Archive in Dublin describes its aim as offering free, universal access to Irish traditional music, song and dance. Its collections are the natural starting point for anyone wanting to hear how the tradition has sounded over the decades. If you are researching a particular tune, singer or region, begin at itma.ie. Worth exploring: the archive’s online collections, which let you listen without leaving home.
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and its archive
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann has spent decades promoting Irish music and culture, and its Traditional Music Archive gathers the recordings, documents and images collected along the way. The collection is held and curated across a network of regional resource centres, and the Comhaltas website also hosts historical film and video. Its ComhaltasLive series set out to capture some of today’s leading players. Find it at comhaltas.ie.
The Influences: filmed sessions at Kilkenny
The Influences is a project that filmed eleven sessions at the Kilkenny Arts Festival in August 2023 and shares them on its website. Watching a session filmed as it happens is a lovely way to see how musicians listen to one another. Pair it with a visit to Kilkenny itself and you have the makings of a trip.
The Trad Tourist
The Trad Tourist writes about Irish music sessions from the perspective of the travelling musician, and shares tune notations for those heading to Ireland with an instrument in tow. If you play yourself and want to know what to expect when you walk into a session for the first time, this is a friendly place to start.
Session Etiquette and In Tune With Tradition
Session Etiquette, founded by Donegal fiddle player Tara Connaghan, is an educational platform about the unwritten norms of the session, from when to join a tune to how to be a good listener. It also runs a podcast, In Tune With Tradition. For visitors who are nervous about doing the wrong thing, it is the ideal primer.
How the session tradition got here
The session as we know it, a group of players gathered informally around a table, grew out of the folk music revivals of the twentieth century and the migration of Irish musicians to cities such as London, Boston and New York. Many of today’s best-loved players learned their tunes in exactly these gatherings, which is why recordings of sessions are so valuable: they capture a tradition that is passed on by ear, one tune at a time.
That is also why documentation is more than nostalgia. A filmed session shows how a tune is started, how others pick it up, how a set moves from a jig into a reel, and how players quietly make room for one another. None of that survives on a page of notation, and watching it first makes your first live session far less intimidating.
Where to hear live music in Ireland
Sessions happen all over the country, from big-name music towns to quiet village pubs, and the best ones are often the least advertised. Ask locally, check pub noticeboards and social pages for regular nights, and be ready to stay for more than one set. Comhaltas also runs the Fleadh Cheoil, a large annual festival of Irish music, and festivals such as the Kilkenny Arts Festival bring fine players together in a single week.
If you are building a trip around the music, pick a base, visit two or three pubs over a few evenings, and let the regulars point you towards their own favourites. You will hear more than any guidebook can list.
Listening before you travel
A little preparation goes a long way. Spend an evening with the ITMA and Comhaltas collections, watch a filmed session, and listen to an episode of In Tune With Tradition. You will start to recognise tune types, notice how sessions are paced, and arrive with the confidence to simply sit, listen and enjoy. Save this page for your trip and share it with anyone who plays or loves Irish music.
However you choose to explore, remember that every recording, archive and podcast above exists because someone cared enough to preserve the music. Supporting those projects, and the musicians in your local pub, keeps the tradition alive for the next generation.
How to enjoy a session when you visit
- Listen first. Sessions are for the musicians; spectators are welcome but should be quiet during tunes.
- Don’t join uninvited. If you play, wait to be welcomed in.
- Support the pub. Buy a drink; the venue is what keeps the music going.
- Ask afterwards. Most players are happy to tell you the name of a tune once it ends.
For places to start, see our guides to P. Bermingham in Navan, Carpe Diem in Carlow and what life is really like in County Kerry.
For the full etiquette rundown, the instruments to listen for, and where to find a genuine session in Doolin, Galway, Dublin and beyond, see our complete guide to attending an Irish trad session.
Frequently asked questions
What is a traditional Irish music session?
It is an informal gathering of musicians who play traditional tunes together, usually in a pub, without a stage or set list.
Can visitors join in?
If you play an instrument, wait to be invited and follow the lead of the regulars. Listeners are always welcome.
Where can I hear historical recordings?
The Irish Traditional Music Archive and the Comhaltas archive both offer collections of recordings, film and documents.
Know a session documentarian or musician we should feature? Tell us in the comments. We are always looking to celebrate the people who love Ireland as much as we do.
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