Co. Sligo

County Sligo is an area of great natural beauty and abounds in sites rich in archeology and history. South Sligo is world famous for its traditional music and many of the greats of Irish music came from that area, among them Michael Coleman, Paddy Killoran and James Morrison. The small village of Gurteen is the focal point of music in the area and you'll find great pubs with music just about every night of the week. For lots of music history visit the Coleman Music Centre with its theatre, shows and Visitor's Centre.

The best festival in Sligo is the South Sligo Summer School in Tubbercurry. It's on the week after Willie Clancy so you can just go straight from one to the other as indeed many people do. It offers the same kind of activities (but they also offer classes for bodhran & harp which Willie Clancy doesn't) and its smaller and a little less crowded.