Source observations, not owner-confirmed. Missing fields do not mean a service is unavailable.
DOONMACPHELIN, DOOLIN, Clare
Reviewed pub lore
Established
Trading on the Doolin coast since 1832. Gus and Doll O'Connor took over in 1956 and ran it for forty years. Patrick Sexton has run the pub since 1998.
Music
Folklore collectors and archivists were visiting Doolin and Gus O'Connor's as early as the 1930s. The pub helped make Doolin synonymous with Irish traditional music — Gus let musicians play long before it was fashionable, when 'musicians were looked down upon around here.' Traditional sessions seven nights a week from February through November; weekends year-round. Real sessions, not floor shows — the audience is part of them.
Regulars
Micho, Packie and Gussie Russell — the Russell brothers — were fixtures here. Through the doors over the years: Willie Clancy, Tommy Peoples, Sharon Shannon, Christy Barry, Kevin Griffin, Yvonne Casey and the rest of the Doolin trad establishment.
Reputation
The cornerstone of Doolin's place in Irish trad music. One of the most reliably-good session pubs on the Wild Atlantic Way.
Community memories
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