Live Music Guide
Live Music in Monaghan
Monaghan has a strong live music calendar for its size: country and trad nights at the Hillgrove Hotel, a Friday trad session at McCarrens, blues at Watters Old Coach Inn in Castleblayney and dancing weekends at the Nuremore in Carrickmacross. LocalJams tracks every listed gig across the county, updated nightly.
Explore all Monaghan gigsThe Monaghan live music scene
Monaghan is a border county of drumlins and small towns, with Armagh, Tyrone and Fermanagh to the north and Louth, Meath and Cavan to the south, and LocalJams holds 54 venues for it. Monaghan town has the largest cluster with 16 venues on file, followed by Carrickmacross with ten, Castleblayney with seven, Inniskeen, Ballybay and Clontibret. Nearly 70 gigs are listed over the coming months, about a quarter of them ticketed, and the tags are unusually balanced: trad, blues, country and folk each account for a similar share.
PKs Bar at the Hillgrove Hotel in Monaghan town is the busiest listed venue, with Derek Ryan, a recurring Traditional Irish Music night and a run of RPNI-presented Halloween shows. McCarrens, also in the town, lists a Trad Session every Friday at 9.30pm, while the Four Seasons Hotel has David James and the Garage Theatre carries Blondie Raptured and The Man in Black. Carrickmacross is dancing-weekend territory: the Nuremore Estate by McGettigan's lists Gearóid McCarthy, a Mike Denver Dancing Weekend with Jack Keogh and Gavin Gribben, and a Claudia Buckley Country Special. In Castleblayney, Watters Old Coach Inn is the county's blues room, with The Reptiles, Billy Boy Miskimmin, Ronnie Greer and Sam Davidson alongside country singer Claudia Buckley, and Iontas on Bree Road hosts Ralph McTell, Paul Brady and Susan McCann.
Earlier in 2026 the listings also carried the Monaghan Town Country Music Festival in July. No free-entry gigs are flagged in the county at present, though most pub listings here carry no ticket link either, so check with the venue.
Upcoming gigs in Monaghan
See allFri, 16 Oct8:00 PM
Derek Ryan
Hillgrove Hotel PKs Bar
Monaghan
Fri, 16 Oct9:00 PM
Claudia Buckley
Watters Old Coach Inn
Castleblayney
Fri, 16 Oct9:30 PM
Trad Session
McCarrens
Monaghan Town
Sat, 17 Oct7:30 PM
Blondie Raptured
Garage Theatre
Monaghan Town
Sat, 17 Oct8:00 PM
Gearóid McCarthy
Nuremore Estate by McGettigan's
Carrickmacross
Sat, 17 Oct9:00 PM
Gearóid McCarthy
Nuremore Mcgettigan Bar
Carrickmacross
Sat, 17 Oct9:00 PM
Ballo
The Shambles
Monaghan Town
Sat, 17 Oct10:00 PM
Looney Choons
Terry's Bar
Monaghan Town
Sun, 18 Oct7:00 PM
The Reptiles
Watters Old Coach Inn
Castleblayney
Sun, 18 Oct8:00 PM
Ralph McTell - Somewhere Down The Road
Iontas
Castleblayney
Sun, 18 Oct10:00 PM
Looney Choons
Hughies Corcaghan
Corcaghan
Mon, 19 Oct9:00 PM
Traditional Irish Music
Hillgrove Hotel PKs Bar
Monaghan
Thu, 22 Oct8:00 PM
Bluetac + The Greenhorns
Adamson bar
Clones
Fri, 23 Oct8:00 PM
The Man in Black
Garage Theatre
Monaghan Town
Fri, 23 Oct8:02 PM
The Painkillers
Adamson bar
Clones
Fri, 23 Oct9:30 PM
Trad Session
McCarrens
Monaghan Town
Sat, 24 Oct6:30 PM
Adult Reel session
Markeys Bar
Carrickmacross
Sat, 24 Oct8:00 PM
Andy Vogel
Adamson bar
Clones
Sat, 24 Oct9:00 PM
Jack Keogh and Mike Denver Dancing Weekend
Nuremore Estate by McGettigan's
Carrickmacross
Sat, 24 Oct9:00 PM
Jack Keogh and Mike Denver Dancing Weekend
Nuremore Mcgettigan Bar
Carrickmacross
Sun, 25 Oct4:15 PM
Tove: Sunday 4.15pm Post Office
Post Office
Clones
Sun, 25 Oct7:00 PM
The Reptiles
Watters Old Coach Inn
Castleblayney
Sun, 25 Oct8:00 PM
David James
Four Seasons Hotel
Monaghan Town
Sun, 25 Oct8:18 PM
Aoife Macaroni
Adamson bar
Clones
Sun, 25 Oct9:00 PM
Gavin Gribben and Mike Denver Dancing Weekend
Nuremore Mcgettigan Bar
Carrickmacross
Sun, 25 Oct9:00 PM
Gavin Gribben and Mike Denver Dancing Weekend
Nuremore Estate by McGettigan's
Carrickmacross
Sun, 25 Oct10:00 PM
Mike Denver
Nuremore Estate by McGettigan's
Carrickmacross
Mon, 26 Oct9:00 PM
Traditional Irish Music
Hillgrove Hotel PKs Bar
Monaghan
Thu, 29 Oct10:30 AM
RPNI Presents THE DREADFUL DISCO
Hillgrove Hotel PKs Bar
Monaghan
Thu, 29 Oct1:00 PM
RPNI Presents THE QUEENS OF MEAN
Hillgrove Hotel PKs Bar
Monaghan
Thu, 29 Oct4:00 PM
RPNI Presents Hocus Pocus Spooktacular
Hillgrove Hotel PKs Bar
Monaghan
Fri, 30 Oct8:00 PM
Paul Brady
Iontas
Castleblayney
Fri, 30 Oct9:00 PM
Acoustic Session
Renaghans Bar
Clontibret
Fri, 30 Oct9:30 PM
Trad Session
McCarrens
Monaghan Town
Fri, 30 Oct9:30 PM
Blues Session
McKennas Bar
Monaghan Town
Sun, 1 Nov7:00 PM
The Reptiles
Watters Old Coach Inn
Castleblayney
Mon, 2 Nov9:00 PM
Traditional Irish Music
Hillgrove Hotel PKs Bar
Monaghan
Tue, 3 Nov7:30 PM
Poerts Shout Out
Nuremore Mcgettigan Bar
Carrickmacross
Tue, 3 Nov7:30 PM
Poerts Shout Out
Nuremore Estate by McGettigan's
Carrickmacross
Fri, 6 Nov9:00 PM
Claudia Buckley Country Special
Nuremore Estate by McGettigan's
Carrickmacross
Popular venues in Monaghan
All venuesLive music in Monaghan: FAQ
Where can I find live music in Monaghan tonight?
The listings on this page show upcoming gigs across Monaghan, refreshed every night. Open any gig to see the line-up, start time, ticket details and a map to the venue. For a filtered view by date, genre or price, use the Explore page.
Are there free gigs in Monaghan?
Sometimes, but none of the Monaghan gigs currently listed on this page is marked free. We only mark a gig as free when there's positive evidence for it, so the green "Free Entry" badge appears only when the venue or promoter says so. Listings refresh nightly, and the Explore page lets you filter by price.
Where can I find traditional Irish music sessions in Monaghan?
McCarrens in Monaghan town lists a Trad Session every Friday at 9.30pm, and PKs Bar at the Hillgrove Hotel runs a recurring Traditional Irish Music night on Mondays. For blues rather than trad, Watters Old Coach Inn in Castleblayney is the regular stop in our listings.
How often are Monaghan gig listings updated?
Every night. Our crawlers read public listings from venue websites, ticketing platforms and established what's-on guides, then clean and de-duplicate them so the listings stay accurate and focused on live music.
Can I find ticketed concerts as well as pub gigs in Monaghan?
Yes. LocalJams lists everything from free trad sessions to ticketed concerts and touring shows. Where a ticket page exists we link straight to it — we never sell tickets ourselves, so the venue or promoter is always the final word on prices and availability.