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family · Saturday 4 July 2026 · Various 
Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy - Willie Clancy Summer School
At Various venues, Miltown Malbay · Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare
At Various venues, Miltown Malbay · Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare
Every July, Miltown Malbay becomes the centre of the traditional Irish music world. Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy has been running since 1973, established in memory of the town’s own uilleann piper Willie Clancy, and has grown into the largest folk music summer school on earth. Over nine days, more than 1,500 students from Ireland and abroad fill the town for a week of learning and the kind of impromptu sessions in pubs and on streets that you cannot plan for. If you play a traditional instrument, sing, or dance - or have a child who does - this is worth building a summer trip around.
Morning workshops run Monday to Saturday, 10am to 1pm, covering uilleann pipes, whistle, flute, fiddle, concertina, button accordion, melodeon, banjo, harmonica, and harp. Traditional set dancing, step dancing, singing workshops, and Irish language sessions run alongside. Levels go from beginner through to advanced. Afternoons bring lectures; evenings bring recitals and céilithe. The €150 registration covers all of this - workshops, lectures, recitals, Irish language classes, and reduced-price céilithe admission through the week. The Saturday 11 July concert is not included.
Beyond the formal programme, many people come for the sessions. Pubs and streets fill with music day and night, players of every level sitting in together. These public sessions are free - watching or joining one is reason enough to visit even without enrolment. Registration is for the full week only; there is no daily sign-up option, and places go early.
Miltown Malbay is on the N67 on the west Clare coast, roughly 35km south-west of Ennis - about 40 minutes by car. Bus Éireann connects Ennis to Miltown Malbay, and Ennis is well served by rail from Limerick and Galway. Parking is available in the town, though during Willie Clancy week the streets are busy.
Spanish Point beach is a short drive away and worth a morning walk before workshops begin. The pubs here take music seriously year-round, not just for the summer school. There is more to see in Miltown Malbay and across Co. Clare.
Heading to Various venues, Miltown Malbay? Clare has plenty more to see. Browse the area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.