Vicar Street on Thomas Street in Dublin opened in 1998 and has hosted Bob Dylan, Adele and Ed Sheeran in a 1,500-standing Liberties room that touring artists prize.
Tip: The cabaret-table seated layout is the best one in the room, book direct on vicarstreet.com and pick the bottom tier for sightlines.
Address: 58-59 Thomas Street, Dublin 8
The Cobblestone in Smithfield Dublin is the Mulligan family trad pub The Guardian called Ireland's most famous traditional music room. Free nightly sessions.
Tip: The front bar session is free and starts at 19:00, you sit where the regulars say you sit. The Balcony TV gigs are in the back room and ticketed.
Devitt's on Camden Street Lower is the south side Dublin trad institution, with live Irish music sessions seven nights a week and a regular musician's audience.
Tip: The Wednesday session is the longest-running, get there by 21:00 for a seat near the players. Order at the bar, food is decent and not the point.
The International Bar on Wicklow Street in Dublin hosts Ireland's oldest comedy club upstairs and a basement that runs blues and singer-songwriter nights cheaply.
Tip: The Comedy Cellar Tuesday and Thursday nights are the originals, pay at the door and bring cash, the upstairs has no card machine.
Drury Buildings on Drury Street in Dublin runs four floors of bar and restaurant with a retractable-roof terrace, the Creative Quarter's go-to outdoor cocktail room.
Tip: Ask for the upper terrace when you book, not the ground floor garden, the retractable roof closes when the rain starts and the view goes with it.
The Rooftop Bar at Anantara The Marker on Grand Canal Square in Dublin runs the city's only 360-degree terrace, from the Dublin Mountains to the Irish Sea.
Tip: Sunset slot 19:00 to 21:00 is the booking, the bar closes the terrace in wind or rain so call ahead in winter.
Sophie's at The Dean is the all-glass rooftop above Harcourt Street in Dublin, a 360-degree south-side view and a terrace bar running breakfast through cocktails.
Tip: The rooftop reopened in May 2026 after refurbishment, book direct on sophies.ie. The corner two-tops by the south-facing glass are the prize.