Session

Joe McKenna leads an open session with a mix of playing and singing. It often runs longer than the advertised hours.

A lunchtime practice session in a bilingual café. Check Instagram for which weekend it falls on.

Live traditional music is offered alongside a view of Carndonagh. The venue serves cappuccino, latte, and tea, along with a variety of homemade and popular French dishes from Patisserie de Pascal.

Dundalk town-centre institution. Friday and Saturday trad — the cross-border influence shows in the music, with fiddle styles from both sides of the Cooley Mountains.

Central Bar Folk Club is held upstairs in the Central Bar, next to the Tyne Bridge on Hills Street, and meets on the third Thursday of each month from 12.30 to 3.30pm. The club is run in a sing-around style, with some well-known North East performers attending. The bar serves food as well as a selection of draught ales and spirits.

Situated between the Lobby and the Phoenix, Charlie’s offers very long sessions from Sunday afternoon until, usually, late at night.

On the Shannon–Erne waterway. Friday sessions in a canal-town bar — the summer crowd includes plenty of boat visitors who arrive with instruments.