Celtic Nights Dublin: worth it?

The short answer

Book it if your idea of a first Irish night is a table, a meal and a band, with dancers in front of you and a chance to try a céilí yourself. It suits couples, friends and families with children of four or older who would rather not hunt for a free table in a crowded pub, and visitors who want the evening planned from the first course to the last dance. Think twice if your dates might move, because the sale is final, or if you picture a large theatre with raked seats. The evening happens in a hotel room laid out for dinner, and it is built around taking part as much as watching.

What the ticket includes

Everything in the list below is part of the price you pay at checkout. Nothing on it is an optional add-on: the meal and the music come together in one ticket. The start time for your chosen date appears on your confirmation. The two hours run from that start, and because dinner is part of them there is no need to eat beforehand; a drink before or after is your own affair.

• A three-course meal of Irish and European dishes
• Live traditional musicians, with stories about Irish customs between songs
• Irish dancers, whose set includes the brush dance
• A céilí at which the audience is invited onto the floor
• A multilingual Dublin city-guide app for your phone

What you pay for on the night

Drinks are not part of the ticket. Table service runs through the evening and you settle for whatever you order on the night, so a pint, wine or a soft drink is an extra cost on top of the booking. Tips are not included either. If you have a dietary need, contact the organiser through your GetYourGuide booking well before your date rather than raising it at the table, because the kitchen plans the three courses in advance. Arrive with a charged phone, since your ticket lives on it, and have it downloaded before you leave your hotel in case the signal is weak indoors.

Why every ticket is final

This is the rule that catches people out. Most bookings on GetYourGuide allow a free change of heart until the day before. Not this one: the ticket is non-refundable and non-transferable from the moment you pay. If you fall ill, change cities or miss the start, the money is gone and you cannot hand the seat to a friend. Seats are held for your booked time slot only, so arrive on time. Settle your Dublin dates first and book the show last, once the night is certain.

The room and the seating

Expect a dining room in a city-centre hotel rather than a concert hall. Guests sit at tables set for dinner and share the room with the band and the dancers, so you are close to the music wherever you are placed. Reviewers describe the seating as snug, with tables close enough that you end up chatting to the people beside you, which some enjoy and some find tight. Seats come with your booked time slot. The evening is wheelchair accessible; if you need a particular table position, ask through your booking before the night.

What you hear and see

Live traditional musicians carry the evening, and between tunes they talk about Irish customs, so the songs come with their back stories. Dancers perform in the step style most visitors know from stage shows, where the upper body stays still while the feet work fast, and their set includes the brush dance, which Wikipedia lists as a specialised form of sean-nós, the older, freer solo style. The performers pick the programme on the night, and no particular tune or dance is promised beyond what is described here.

Read next: Céilí, step and sean-nós dance

Joining the céilí

A céilí is a social dance gathering with live music, and the social dances are simple enough for a beginner to shuffle through while someone who knows the figures calls them out. That is what you are invited to try at the end of the show. You can join in or stay at the table and clap; reviews suggest the room gets livelier when more people take part. Wear shoes you can move in. If dancing in front of strangers is your idea of a bad night, a seated concert or a pub session may suit you better.

The city-guide app

The booking bundles a Dublin city-guide app for your phone, with audio in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. It is a guide to the city itself, for wandering the streets on other days, not a commentary on the show or a translation of the songs. Treat it as a small extra rather than a reason to book. The show itself is presented in English, and the dancing and music need no translation, which makes the evening easy for visitors whose first language is something else.

Reading the reviews and the billing

The evening is marketed with a visitor-attraction award line; that is the seller's own billing, so weigh it as advertising rather than a verdict. The verified reviews beside the price are the firmer guide. They tend to praise the musicians, the dancers and the friendliness of the service, rate the food as better than expected, and score value for money a little below the overall mark. Some single out the jokes and stories between songs. The less happy comments mention tight seating and a band that sometimes struggles to coax the room onto the floor.

Choosing your night

The evening is often marked as likely to sell out, which means a popular date can go before you get round to it. That pulls against the no-refund rule, and the way through is to fix your Dublin plans first, then book the show for the evening you are surest of. Early in a trip, when jet lag and late arrivals make plans shaky, is a poor choice. A night in the middle or towards the end, with the city already behind you, tends to work better. The short walk from O'Connell Street makes it easy to fit around an afternoon tour.

Read next: Bachelors Walk: getting there

Who this isn't for

If your group includes a child under four, look elsewhere, since under-fours are not admitted. Anyone whose plans could still change should wait, because the ticket cannot be cancelled or passed on. And if you want to hear musicians play among themselves late into the night in a pub; that is a session, a different thing, and a guided pub walk is a better route to one. And if you dislike being invited to dance, choose a seat away from the floor or choose another evening altogether.

Read next: Dinner show or pub music walk?