Well, Christy Moore sang: if its music you want, go to Clare. Its not as true as it used to be. The fact is that live unplugged sessions are beginning to dry in a lot of areas, famous places like Doolin can be really packed in July and you had better not suffer from claustrophobia at the Willy Clancy festival. It can take an hour and a half to drive from one end of town to the other, longer to get a drink and youll sleep in a ditch because the accomodation is booked up for miles around. Personally I would rather go to a festival town the week before or the week after. The crack is great and the place isnt as packed. Or else pick a town on the fringes of a festival, say 5 - 10 miles away. Enjoy yourself anyway and just go with the flow.