Live Music in Dooling
Music at Doolin
Entertainment
“You get this gift from hardship and hard work and getting wet in cold weather. That’s the way he described it. And lonesome lives… All that comes from that source. It comes down out of the heavens, he said, in showers — the gift of music.”
— Micho Russell
In Doolin, music is not an add-on.
It is weather. It is inheritance. It is something carried quietly through generations and passed across tables long before anyone thought of putting it on a stage.
Micho Russell and the Russell family helped shape the global reputation of this small village, but the tradition here is wider than any one name. Tunes were learned in kitchens, in fields, in quiet houses through long winters. They travelled by ear, not by sheet music. They were earned.
That tradition still lives.
And at Hotel Doolin, everything revolves around it.
Fitz’s pub – 365 days of music
Live music runs in Fitz’s every single day of the year.
Summer or winter, storm or stillness, there is always a session by the fire in Fitz’s. Players gathered close. Listeners leaning in. Some of Ireland’s most accomplished traditional musicians hold residencies here, keeping the flame alive while welcoming new players into the circle.
Tara Breen
Christy Barry
Eoin O’Neill
These are musicians who have toured internationally, recorded widely and played on the biggest stages in Irish traditional music, yet choose to sit down in a village pub and let the tunes flow.
That’s Doolin.
Eoin O’Neill, Adam Shapiro & Kieran O’Connell
Every Monday Night
Session begins 9.00pm
The Wild Atlantic Session is exactly what it sounds like. Driving tunes, strong rhythm and a set that moves between tradition and contemporary energy.
Eoin O’Neill is widely regarded as one of Ireland’s leading uilleann pipers, known for his powerful tone and deep understanding of the tradition. Adam Shapiro brings precision and musicality, while Kieran O’Connell adds a dynamic lift that keeps the session moving.
It’s a night that sets the tone for the week.
Every Tuesday Night
Session begins 9.00pm
Tuesday nights continue the tradition in Fitz’s, with resident musicians and guest players shaping the evening. Details will follow, but the commitment remains the same: real tunes, close to the fire, in the heart of the village.
Every Wednesday Night
Session begins 9.00pm
Midweek in Doolin still carries weight. Expect a session rooted in tradition, open to visiting players and shaped by whoever walks through the door with an instrument in hand.
Charles Monod & Friends
Every Thursday Night
Session begins 9.00pm
Tunes From Doolin leans into the roots of the village itself.
Charles Monod and rotating guest musicians draw directly from the local repertoire, playing sets that would not feel out of place in a kitchen decades ago.
It’s steady, grounded and deeply connected to place.
Every Friday Night
Session begins 9.00pm
Friday nights bring an added lift to the room. Musicians gather, visitors lean in, and the weekend begins properly.
Every Saturday Night
Session begins 9.00pm
Saturday nights in Fitz’s have a lift to them. Earth Fort bring energy, rhythm and just enough unpredictability to keep the room alive.
By the second set, the tables are closer together and the pints are flowing. It’s rarely a quiet one.
Tara Breen & Friends
or
Christy Barry
Every Sunday Night
Session begins 8.30pm
Sunday nights belong to players who carry serious weight in the tradition.
Tara Breen is one of the most respected fiddle players of her generation, known for her clarity, rhythm and stage presence. Christy Barry’s flute playing is expressive, lyrical and unmistakably West Clare.
These are not casual sessions. They are evenings where the lineage of Doolin music is audible in every set.
Weekly Session Schedule
Monday – The Wild Atlantic Session – 9.00pm
Tuesday – Irish Songs and Ballads – 9.00pm
Wednesday – High Stool Mac – 9.00pm
Thursday – Tunes From Doolin – 9.00pm
Friday – Irish Songs and Ballads & Joe Searson – 9.00pm
Saturday – Earth Fort – 9.00pm
Sunday – Tara Breen & Friends or Christy Barry – 8.30pm
Live music in Fitz’s Pub 365 days of the year.
Over the years Hotel Doolin has hosted all the greats on the Irish Trad & Folk Scene including Paul Brady, Finbar Furey, Sharon Shannon, Clannad, Lunasa, John Sheahan, Martin Hayes, Noel Hill, Mairtín O'Connor, Luka Bloom, Scullion, Lisa Hannigan, The Stunning, Mick Flannery, Damien Dempsey, Declan O'Rourke, The Hothouse Flowers, Dervish, Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, Liam O'Flynn & Paddy Glackin and many, many more.
With nightly music in Fitz's Pub and more going on in Hotel Doolin you will be pleasantly surprised with events at The Attic venue or our Barn (see links below), music is always coursing through the walls of Hotel Doolin culminating in the annual Doolin Folk Festival, founded by Hotel Doolin and the highlight of the musical year in North Clare.
We have nightly live music in Fitz's Pub, check out our upcoming music schedule below.
