Traditional Music Session at King House Bar, Boyle

What to Expect

King House Bar in Boyle runs what local session guide Sesh.ie calls Boyle’s most consistent trad night, a Friday session that has become one of the reliable fixtures on the county’s music calendar. Roscommon sits at the meeting point of the Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim musical traditions, and Boyle’s Friday session tends to reflect that mix, with visiting musicians from neighbouring counties joining the regular local players. Expect a full-length night of reels, jigs and songs in an informal pub setting rather than a staged performance.

Boyle is one of the busier music towns in the county, with the King House heritage site itself, the Boyle Arts Festival in July and a cluster of traditional pubs all contributing to its reputation as a live music destination. A Friday night in Boyle typically offers more than one option for live or traditional music across the town’s pubs, but the King House Bar session is singled out as the most dependable of them, running week in, week out rather than depending on a booked act.

Good to Know

• Cadence: every Friday, 9:30pm, throughout the year.
• Venue and town: King House Bar, Boyle, Co. Roscommon.
• Price: free to attend, no cover charge.
• Boyle has several music pubs, so confirm you have the right venue if following directions from a satnav.
• This entry is dated to the next Friday; the session repeats weekly on the same night.
• Pair with a weekend trip to King House’s heritage exhibitions or a walk around Lough Key Forest Park nearby.

Getting There

Boyle is on the N4, about 20 minutes from Roscommon town and Carrick-on-Shannon, with the town centre and its pubs within walking distance of the train station on the Dublin to Sligo line.