Morten Andersen trusts a session you can walk into for free more than one with a cover charge and a setlist. Devitt's of Camden Street is the clearest example in Dublin 2: a proper old pub that hands its back bar to trad musicians five nights a week and never asks the listener to pay at the door.
Devitt's sits at 78 Lower Camden Street, on the run of bars that links the south city centre to Portobello. It reads as a Victorian corner pub on the outside and a working trad house on the inside, with the music gathered in the back bar rather than staged at the front. The pub runs live Irish trad sessions from Wednesday to Sunday, starting at 9:30pm with no cover charge (Devitt's official trad sessions page).
The session that defines the place is the open one on Sunday afternoons, which starts at 2pm and pulls in players and singers from across the city. Visit Dublin lists Devitt's among the Camden Street institutions for traditional music, where the standard comes from the locals taking part rather than a booked headline act (Visit Dublin). On a good night the whole back bar ends up singing together, which is the test a real session passes and a staged one fails.
What to order is straightforward pub fare done right. A pint of Guinness is the obvious choice and the right one, with a Dublin pint running about 6.50 to 7 euro. A half of Irish whiskey suits a seat near the players on a slow Wednesday. Devitt's also keeps a decent line of craft taps for anyone who wants a local pale ale instead of stout, so the round can cover a mixed table without anyone settling.
Who it is for is the person who wants the music without the production. Devitt's rewards listeners who sit in close and join a chorus, which makes it right for a relaxed trad night and wrong for a loud pre-club crowd looking for DJs. For the city's other sessions, our guide to the best live music bars in Dublin maps them, and The Cobblestone in Smithfield is the north-side equivalent.
The back bar is the heart of the place and the reason regulars guard their stools. Players gather around a couple of tables rather than a stage, so newcomers can sit close and follow the tunes, and singers join in as the night runs on. The front bar stays a normal pub, which means you can drink quietly up front or move back into the session.
Best time to go is the Sunday 2pm open session or a midweek 9:30pm start, when you can take a seat in the back bar before it fills. Weekend nights run later and busier, which suits a stout and a standing crowd more than a quiet listen. Arrive a little before the players do and you will get the seat that matters.
Devitt's holds the line that Camden Street has kept for decades, a free nightly session in a real pub rather than a ticketed show. For the wider plan, start with our Dublin bar guide, and for a late gig in a converted room a few streets over see Whelan's on Wexford Street.
Sources: Devitt's trad sessions page; Visit Dublin listing; The Session venue entry.
