Drop in to Wexford's Pubs and Hostelries for THE SMITHWICK'S TRADTRAIL 2026

With over 20 pubs and hostelries taking part , the SMITHWICK'S TRADTRAIL will be a highlight of the WexTrad Weekend. Enjoy lively acoustic informal traditional music sessions featuring many of the visiting tutors, concert artists and guests of WexTrad weekend, along with a myriad of local traditional musicians. Many of the participating pubs may also be featuring your favourite local and visiting plugged-in solo, duos or groups, performing folk, Irish, ballads and contemporary music.

Smithwicks Session Trail 

TRADTRAIL - trad music  sessions

The inaugural 2026 SMITHWICK'S TRADTRAIL will feature over 40 trad music sessions over the weekend in over 20 pubs. Musicians will gather in pub corners and strike up a fabulous acoustic session of traditional Irish dance tunes. Some 30 visiting musicians will join around 50 musicians from Wexford, so e xpect fiddles, flutes, accordions to be played along with uilleann pipes, banjos, concertinas, bodhráns, harps...who knows what instrument combinations you'll hear when the 'craic' starts. 

Full listings of the Tradtrail times and session line-ups appear above and in the Wextrad booklet, available in print and online on this website, once it's published.

TRADTRAIL - Singers' session

The Traditional Singers' Session  will take place in Mary's Bar on Sat. 31st. January from 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. Wexford is nationally noted for and rightly proud of it's particularly  strong traditional unaccompanied singing tradition. When the singer starts to weave a tale in song, the pub falls silent and is brought through the balladeer to stories of love, sea, sport, place....an unmissable dive in to a deep and ancient culture. Join the cream of County Wexford's multi-award winning traditional singers for an afternoon of unforgettable buzz, ballads and banter. Whisht!

Plugged Gigs over WexTrad Weekend

Many of the participating pubs have booked great gigs for you to enjoy over the WexTrad weekend. So sit back and relax or be on your feet dancing to the very best pub gigging acts from around the South East and beyond. 

See the SMITHWICK'S TRADTRAIL listing in the WexTrad booklet for details of the performers.

TRADTRAIL session performers

Confirmed SMITHWICK'S TRADTRAIL trad session performers include:

  • Oisín Mac Diarmada (fiddle - Sligo)
  • Seán Kellliher (banjo, guitar - Kerry)
  • Mark Redmond (pipes, flute - Wexford)
  • Daithi Gormley (accordion - Sligo)
  • Padraig Mac Aoghán/Paddy Egan (concertina - Cork/Wexford)
  • Mick Martin (guitar, pipes, bodhrán - Kilkenny/Wexford)
  • Elaine Reilly (banjo - Longford)
  • Micky Curran (accordion - Tyrone)
  • Samantha Harvey (piano - Sligo/U.S.),
  • Rebecca McCarthy-Kent (fiddle - Waterford)
  • Pat Bass (banjo, piano - Wexford)
  • James McCaffrey (flute - Tyrone)
  • Padraig and Brigid Sinnott  (pipes/accordion - Wexford)
  • Rory Healy (fiddle - Wicklow),
  • Fergal O' Hanlon (guitar, bouzouki - Wexford)
  • Úna Walsh (harp - Wexford)
  • Dave Harper (banjo, guitar - Clare/UK)
  • Mick Lawler (flute, pipes , bodhrán - Wexford)
  • John MacMahon (concertina - Wexford/Clare)
  • Ned & Dermot Wall (pipes, flute/fiddle  - Wexford)
  • Cian Maginn (harp - Down)  
  • Kayleigh Moran (fiddle - Wexford)
  • Brian Kiernan (fiddle - Dublin)
  • Éanna Harrington (uilleann pipes - Dublin/Wexford)

and many, many more!

The full listing will be published in the WexTrad booklet (in Print and online)