As regards "Folk Clubs" in Ireland, I wonder why people expect Live, Spontaneous and Organised Session Music in Ireland to conform exactly to the pattern in other countries. I come from a rural area of Ireland and , subject to some cyclical occurences when other types of music became , briefly, more popular, folk music has nearly always been performed in pubs or at private house gatherings, christenings, weddings, wakes,burials,long term leave takings or victory celebrations (come to think of it, defeat "celebrations" have often been just as good !)
That 's the way it always was and still is, over here. We never really divided ourselves into "clubs" for musical affairs except, to some extent in the Dublin of the late 60s,70s perhaps. Maybe another city or too also.
I think our more bucolic life style lends itself to more spontaneous performances.
If anyone intends to visit here from abroad to join in some musical events, then buy the local newspaper for whichever area you favour. You'll find reams of notices concerning live music of varying degrees of excellence all over the place.