Ennis, Ireland: A Cozy County Clare Base for Trad Music, Pubs & Day Trips
County Clare and Irish trad music go together like nuns and habits. If cozying up in a pub with a pint while musicians tune their fiddles is on your Ireland wishlist, Ennis—County Clare’s largest town—belongs at the top of your itinerary. This Tidy Town is considered one of the country’s most reliable hubs for traditional Irish music, and its pubs host sessions nearly every night.
For updated listings, Visit Ennis maintains a helpful nightlife and trad roundup.
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Ennis also makes an excellent base for day-tripping to some of Ireland’s most iconic attractions. Cliffs of Moher, the Kilkee Cliffs, and Bunratty Castle & Folk Park are all within easy reach.
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Arriving in Ennis (and Why We Avoided Ennis Trad Fest)
We arrived on November 5th—the night before Ennis Trad Fest was set to begin. Months earlier, as I planned our trip, I came across the festival. I knew we didn’t want to be there during it. We love trad music, but we also love securing dinner reservations, finding seats at the bar, and checking into a hotel without panic-refreshing booking sites.
During check-in at the Old Ground Hotel, a staff member told us that by the final day of Trad Fest, every room for the following year is already booked. That sealed my suspicion that arriving on the eve of the festival gave us the best of both worlds: the town’s musical energy, without the crowds.
A Long Travel Day, Rewarded by Ennis Hospitality
Ennis provided a landing pad after a long day of logistics. We started the morning at Laurel Villa in Magherafelt, dropped our rental car at Belfast City Airport, taxied to Belfast Central Station, then caught a bus to Dublin Airport to pick up a new rental—because returning a Northern Ireland car to Dublin is notoriously expensive.
On the way west, we stopped at Sean’s Bar—Ireland’s oldest pub—for a pint for Chris and an Irish coffee for me.
When we reached Ennis, the charm of the Old Ground Hotel greeted us. We checked in, changed quickly, and headed to Town Hall Bistro, the hotel’s restaurant. Booking a table here turned out to be a brilliant decision; our dinner was one of the quiet highlights of the trip. (You can read our full review here: Old Ground Hotel Review: A Romantic Stay in Ennis, Ireland.)
A Morning Errand (and an Unexpected Lesson in Identity)
The next morning began with an errand. Chris accidentally took the Laurel Villa room keys with him—only realizing it when we reached Sean’s Bar the previous afternoon—so we set off for the Ennis post office before it opened, joining the queue with locals headed to work.
When we reached the counter, the clerk asked, “Are you mailing them in Ireland?”
“Yes,” I said. “Well, Northern Ireland.”
He smiled. “We count them as ourselves.”
Keys posted, we set off to explore Ennis before driving to Bunratty Castle & Folk Park.
Coffee in Ennis: A Delicious Stop at Mondo Coffee Shop
We stopped at Mondo Coffee, where Chris ordered a regular coffee and a warm, golden, blueberry scone. As soon as I saw their delectable-looking scones, I wished I weren’t still full from breakfast pancakes. I asked for a caramel latte with coconut milk. It was delicious. Mondo Coffee is a bright, friendly café with skilled baristas and a welcoming vibe. Of all the cafés we visited over two weeks in Ireland, Mondo was one of my favorites.
Exploring Ennis: Sculptures, Stories, and a Town Full of Memory
Daniel O’Connell Monument
The Daniel O’Connell Monument was fenced off for construction during our visit. O’Connell, known as The Great Liberator, spearheaded Catholic Emancipation and helped overturn centuries of exclusion. It had been 100 years since a Catholic was elected to British Parliament—until that historic election took place right here in Ennis.
Edna O’Brien Mural
During our morning stroll, we spotted a mural of author Edna O’Brien. Her groundbreaking trilogy, The Country Girls, was banned in Ireland when it appeared in 1960; today, her work is a point of national pride. O’Brien passed away in 2024 at age 93.
Purchase The Country Girls and support independent bookstores.
The Sisters of Mercy Sculpture—And a More Complicated Story
We also wandered by a sculpture commemorating the Sisters of Mercy’s arrival in Ennis in 1854. It depicts a nun, a mother, and a baby—a tribute to Mother Catherine McAuley’s legacy of charitable service.
What most visitors don’t realize (and what we didn’t at first) is that the sculpture stands where an industrial school once operated. The Sisters of Mercy were among the religious orders that ran the Magdalene Laundries, institutions now known for their abuse of girls and young women.
Claire Keegan’s novella Small Things Like These addresses this history with devastating clarity.
Locals remain divided: some want the sculpture removed; others advocate for a companion installation honoring the women harmed in the laundries.
Purchase Small Things Like These and support independent bookstores.
Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul
Across from the Old Ground Hotel stands the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, its limestone façade presiding over the town center. We didn’t have time to step inside, but we admired its exterior and the striking “Hands” sculpture by Shane Gilmore—Hands of Welcome, Hands of Peace, Hands of Cooperation. My photos only captured the first three plaques. They are hands of other ideas as well.
“Hands” is part of the wider Ennis Sculpture Trail, a collection that threads contemporary art through the town. You can explore the full trail using the Ennis Town Map.
If Only We Had More Time in Ennis…
With more time, we would’ve booked one of its excellent walking tours, like the Ennis Walking Tour with Local Guide Ger Considine, Private Ennis Tasting History Tour with Dr. Jane O’Brien, or O’Brien’s Private Ennis Dark History Tour. Each one offers a different way to experience the town’s layers.
If you’re planning time in County Clare, give yourself a night or two here. Between the trad music, the art, the cafés, and the history stitched into every street, Ennis is far more than a stopover.
This Is Happiness by Niall Williams nudged me to look more closely at this part of Ireland. If you’re curious about the novel, or how we turned its pages into an itinerary, you can read more about it here:
Planning a trip to Ireland? Get our free Ireland Insider Guide. You might like our 131-page Ireland travel guide even better. It’s the trip companion I wish we’d had on our first visit.
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