Nightlife and Entertainment
Ennis may not have the best selection of restaurants in the west, but when it comes to music, it takes some beating. The town has two major traditional music festivals, the Fleadh Nua , which takes place over the last weekend in May, and the fabulous Guinness Traditional Music Festival ( www.clarenet.ie/Ennis/novtradfest/index.html ), which is usually held over the second weekend in November and draws top musicians. In fact, Ennis is well served for music any time of the year, and perhaps the best place to start is Cois na hAbhna , a centre for local traditional music enthusiasts, located less than half a mile out on the Gort Road. Throughout the summer they have Oiche Ceilidh evenings of song and dance (on alternate Sats), and year round there are informal traditional music sessions and set dancing classes (Wed 8.30pm). Sessions organized by Cois na hAbhna also move around the county, so it's worth watching out for them in smaller towns roundabout; call in to the tourist office for details. The Knotted Chord, Cook's Lane, off O'Connell St, is a music shop specializing in traditional Irish, folk and world music, and there's what's on information posted on the wall; it's also worth looking at their Web site ( www.knotted-chord.com ). For such a small town, Ennis itself has a surprising number of bars with music sessions. For traditional music try: Brogan's , 24 O'Connell St (summer Tues and Wed); Fawl's Railway Bar , 69 O'Connell St (Fri); Micky Kerin's , Lifford, a short walk along Newbridge Rd (Fri); P.J. Kelly's in Carmody St (Sat and Sun); Cruise's , Abbey St (Sun lunchtime and every night); and Ciaran's , Francis St (Thurs). You might also find traditional music in O' Halloran's , High St; Paddy Quin's , Lower Market St; and the Temple Gate Hotel . Brandon's , O'Connell St, is one of the liveliest young bars, offering a mixture of traditional (Mon and Wed); a DJ (Thurs); rock, blues or cajun (Fri and Sat); and a varied selection on Sundays. They also have a singers' club upstairs (first and third Wed of every month), where anyone is welcome to do any kind of performance including stand-up. El Paso's , Parnell St, is a huge, Western-theme bar with pop, folk and ballads four or five nights a week, and Alexander Knox , Abbey St, attracts a young crowd with pop and rock (Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri). For clubs , try The Sanctuary located behind Cruise's on Abbey St (chart music), or The Bordwalk , behind Brandon's on O'Connell St (rock, world, cajun mix).
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