I wasn’t surprised when The New York Times named Waterford one of the 52 best places to visit in 2024. On its day, when the weather is good, it’s hard to beat. You’re so close to the coast – you can do a half-hour drive and find 15 beaches that are just amazing. You’re also only half an hour away from the mountains.

I’m not from Waterford City, I’m closer to Tramore, down near the hurdy gurdys, but I used to busk in Waterford City outside Claire’s Accessories in the main square. You kind of want to catch people going into John Roberts Square outside Penney’s or outside Claire’s. If you can get those spots, you’re in good shape.

The best venue in Waterford to see somebody cool was, in my opinion, Uisce Beatha on the quays. It was a good spot, small and intimate. There was great Guinness and good craic too. I remember The Forum also used to be a place that people would play in and that was really cool.

An Uisce Beatha

To be honest though, Waterford has so much more potential than where it’s currently at. It needs to get a proper venue in there. The pub scene is amazing, but something that was 400, 300 ,or even 200 capacity would be great. There’s a third level institution there [South East Technological University], so you would think there would be enough young people to support it.

There’s an independently run record store in the city called Luca Records. It’s fairly new and I’m glad it’s there. It’s really cool. In terms of the best trad in Waterford, I could risk getting caught out here, but if you go to Mother McHugh’s in Fennor North, it’s great. I love an old man pub and that’s exactly what Mother McHugh’s is.

LUCA

There’s a guy called Skinner Flynn who’s a local at Mother McHugh’s. Skinner Flynn is one of these legends that nobody knows, but if you Google him, a picture of somebody will come up and you’ll know exactly who it is! You’ll know him when you see him.

Of course, in recent years All Together Now has been incredible. I went to All Together Now for a day last year and it was honestly such a cool festival. The way they run it is really nice and it’s an incredible location to do it in too.

Moncrieff

Nobody is really allowed there during the year, so it’s just kept so well. It beats Electric Picnic in my opinion in terms of a “place”. They just need to book Moncrieff as a headliner at some point!