The West of Ireland has lots of Irish sessions, which tend not to start till 10.00pm.

East and midlands is harder to find Irish traditional; country and Irish seems to be more popular.

On our first visit we stopped at a pub in Athy and asked the landlady where we would find music.

"Oh!" she said, "There's music everywhere in Ireland. Mind we don't play that bloody diddly diddly stuff here, it's proper country."

Later on in the same holiday we were in Dunmore East (the world's prettiest bay IMHO) when we heard a fiddle and banjo. We hurried towards the sound, expecting to find a session, but no. It was the Dunmore East International Bluegrass Festival, and the band playing was from Nottingham (my birthplace)

Stu