I'm not fully up to speed with whats happening on the contemporary gig scene in Dublin but there are quite a few venues around.

Mr Wallis above seems to have a problem with the notion of such a thing but he hardly speaks for the whole of Ireland!

The Cobblestone (Smithfield Dublin) used to run contemporary gigs until fairly recently. May still do for all I know. Other likely venues are Mother Redcaps, Whelans and Vicar Street although these would tend to have well known artists mainly, there may be some support slots going. There are other spots in Dublin who run gigs The Green Room at the Holiday Inn is one that springs to mind.

I don't have any contacts in these venues these days but may be worth a google search. There are loads of traditional sessions in Dublin all the time. Do a search on Dublin Sessions and the main names will come up.

I don't tend to go into the city centre that much these days, but if you're around and you want to meet up for a pint and some pointers I'd have no problem meeting up with you for a chat and going to a session or two, if I'm in town at the time. PM me if you're intersted.