10 Best Places for Live Music in Dublin | Condé Nast Traveler

"Hush, for you’re entering a holy place. Dublin’s version of New York’s legendary CBGB isn't the high cathedral of punk, but rather, a temple to the singer-songwriter, the earnest artists with their hearts on their sleeves, musicians that Ireland has churned out like some kind of emotion factory. Whelan’s is small—it can only 450 soft-rocking souls, packed in like sardines on the main floor and the upstairs balcony—but that only adds to the mystique, where artist and audience commune to create something that can be quite special. It's the place to see that Youtube singer you're totally in love with, even if nobody else has heard of them—except for the 450 other people at the gig, plus the 300 disappointed souls who didn’t get in." - Fionn Davenport