Traditional Irish Music Sessions at Matt Molloy's

What to Expect

Matt Molloy’s is one of Ireland’s best-known traditional music pubs, run by Matt Molloy, flautist with The Chieftains. Sessions happen in the back bar seven nights a week, all year round, and if Matt isn’t away on tour with the band he sometimes joins in himself. The atmosphere is intimate rather than staged: musicians gather informally around a table, regulars and visitors squeeze in around them, and the room gets busy quickly, so arriving early is the only way to guarantee a seat close to the music. There’s no cover charge and no ticket, just the price of a drink at the bar.

Good to Know

• Sessions run Sunday to Thursday from 9:30pm
• Sessions run Friday and Saturday from 8:00pm, earlier than the rest of the week
• Music happens every night of the year, making this a standing rather than one-off booking
• Free entry, no reservation needed, though the back room fills fast
• Fully licensed bar with normal pub opening hours: Monday to Thursday 12:30pm to 11:30pm, Friday and Saturday 12:30pm to 12:30am, Sunday 12:30pm to 11pm
• Matt Molloy himself is a founding member of The Chieftains and occasionally plays when not on tour
• The pub is a long-standing fixture on Bridge Street and features regularly in guides to Ireland’s best trad venues
• Because this is a nightly recurring session rather than a single date, the date above marks the next evening’s music, with the same session repeating on into the following weeks

Because the sessions run every single night of the year rather than being tied to a special event, Matt Molloy’s works equally well as a spontaneous stop on a night out in Westport or as the whole reason for the trip. Visitors travelling through the west of Ireland on trad-music tours are regularly brought here for exactly that reason, and it remains one of the few pubs in the country where a founding member of a globally known traditional group can genuinely turn up and play alongside the regular session musicians.

Getting There

Matt Molloy’s is on Bridge Street in Westport town centre, within easy walking distance of the Octagon and the rest of the town’s pubs, with nearby car parks for anyone driving in.