6 Best Bars in Ennis, County Clare, Galway, and the Aran Islands

Behind the subtle, light-yellow timber-front entrance, this whiskey and tequila bar is a long warren of Victorian-bar idiosyncrasies, with lofty ceilings, barrel tables, two-story-high whiskey cabinets that manifest like the love child of an old west saloon and a traditional Irish pub. The evening entertainment reflects the same hybrid, with jazz, blues, acoustic sessions, and the occasional bit of reggae offered back-to-back with trad-music sessions. It's the best place in town for a refreshing cocktail, and the antidote to an overindulgence in ballads and fiddles.

Enter through a side alley door to this large landmark pub that has served and entertained locals for decades, right in the town center. Musicians appear to crawl out of the handsome woodwork nightly and perform impromptu to an appreciative audience. Bar food is available.

Knappogue Castle's banquet is a feast of quaint pageantry with an inoffensive menu that still has a broad appeal. However, the setting on hilly pastures in a medieval limestone tower house in County Clare is sublime. Entertainers strum harps and sing old favorite Irish melodies and generally earn the €63 price tag for a night of poetry, sentimentality and innocent fun. There's an elegant walled garden by the west side of the building and the castle has an intriguing backstory ever since it was constructed in the 15th century by the McNamara clan---and it's available to rent on Airbnb.  

This Victorian-style bar, close to Ennis Friary, with a traditional plate-glass shop front with brick, timber, and bric-a-brac finishes, claims the title of the town's oldest pub. It serves bar food in its Storehouse Restaurant until 9 pm and offers live traditional music regularly from 9:30 pm.

Behind one of the most charming facades in Ennis is McHugh's Bar, the town's hub for craft beer. Order a pint of its own brand, Western Herd, and settle in for the occasional, impromptu music session. Tapas are available from Thursday to Sunday.

The O'Connell Street door to the Old Ground Hotel leads directly to the Poet's Corner, a spacious, popular bar with pub grub in the day, and regular traditional music sessions on weekends from 9:30.