The Sound of Ireland (As Told by the People)
What does “home” sound like in Ireland? I asked locals across the country to share one song that brings them back, and built a playlist full of stories, memories, and the people behind the music.
When you travel, music sneaks into everything. It’s the soundtrack of long bus rides, the background of late-night conversations, and sometimes, the thing that makes a place stick with you long after you’ve left. We all have that one song, when it comes on shuffle it immediately takes you back to a specific place or moment of your life. For me, music is my everything, especially when I travel. I’m one of those people that creates a playlist for every single trip I take and listen to it on repeat so it is engrained in my head as being associated with that time in my life. On a recent trip to Ireland, I decided to try something different, inspired by @delilah_isabel on TikTok. Instead of just creating a “travel playlist” of songs I liked, I wanted to build one made entirely by locals and songs that reminded them of home.
It started with a simple ask, “What’s a song that reminds you of home?” And from that one question came a million stories. We asked nearly everyone we met: bartenders, shop owners, fellow bus passengers, even people on the street. Some answers came quickly, others took thought. But every single one led to something more than just a title and artist. People told us about the song they danced to at their wedding, the one their dad played on weekend drives, or the one that made them miss someone they hadn’t seen in years.
One guy in particular stands out: Christy. He was our amazing tour guide at the Smithwick’s Brewery in Kilkenny, and the first person we asked for a song. He was so overwhelmed with getting the perfect song that he kept coming back with new suggestions, ten in total by the time we wrapped up. With each song he’d light up, offering context or lyrics or just a quick, “you’ll love this one.” It turned into this ongoing moment, a thread that ran through the trip and reminded me that people really do want to share a piece of themselves if you just ask.
By the time we left, we had about an hour’s worth of music, and a lifetime worth of stories. Not chart-toppers or trendy tracks, but songs that felt rooted. The kind you might hear at a local pub on a weeknight, or coming from someone’s open window. Each one carries the voice of the person who shared it with us—and the story behind why it matters to them.
There’s something about music in Ireland, it doesn’t just play in the background, it fills the room, spills out onto the streets, and brings strangers to the same table. It’s passed down, played live, sung loudly. In a country where storytelling is an integral part of culture and connection, music becomes the common thread. Even if you don’t know the words, you find yourself humming along. That’s the power of music, it brings people together, makes space for shared moments, and reminds you that you’re never really that different than the stranger sitting next to you.
What struck me most wasn’t the music itself (though there are some absolute gems on there). It was how willing people were to connect, to pause in the middle of their day and really think about what “home” sounds like. The songs became an entry point into real conversations, the kind you don’t always get when you’re just passing through a place. We got to chat with a family of singers (a dad and his two daughters), who were singing folk music at a pub in Killarney, and Paddy, a 90-year-old grandfather who’s favorite song was Grace by Luke Kelly (come to think of it, it was a lot of peoples).
This trip to Ireland made me realize that every country has its own version of this list, and every person has their own version of “home.” Maybe we’ll keep this going, gathering playlists made by locals, shaped by stories.
Wanna listen to our playlist? Check it out below.
the sound of ireland
crowdsourced from irish hearts, pubs, and late-night convos. these are the songs the locals actually love
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