Days Out NI
Music & arts centre Belfast

The Duke of York

Belfast's most photographed alleyway pub, with trad and live music several nights a week.

4 photos
Monday to Saturda…Monday to Saturday 11.30am to 1am, Sunday…
Free inFamilies welcome by day
BelfastMusic & arts centre
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Arts centreAll ages by day
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The Duke of York — Belfast's most photographed alleyway pub, with trad and live music several nights a week.

  • Who it's for: Adults for the most part. Accompanied under-18s are allowed in the bar until 9pm under NI licensing law, which makes the Sunday afternoon session the only realistic family window. Evenings are for grown-ups.
  • Music: Live music Thursday to Sunday including trad, acoustic and rock; traditional session Sunday from around 5pm. Check the pub's what's-on before you travel, as session nights change.
  • Tickets: Free in for the pub sessions. Gigs in the sister venues may be ticketed.
  • When: Monday to Saturday 11.30am to 1am, Sunday 1pm to 9pm.
Plan your visit

The alleyway is the attraction

You do not have to go inside to get something out of a trip here. Commercial Court is a short cobbled entry in the old Half Bap district, and owner Willie Jack has covered it in murals, street signage, Belfast memorabilia and hundreds of old city photographs. The canopy of umbrellas strung above the lane is one of the most photographed spots in Northern Ireland. Bring the camera, walk the length of it, read the signs. Ten minutes, free, and no age limit on a public alley.

Trad sessions and live music Thursday to Sunday Sunday afternoon trad from around 5pm The umbrella alleyway on Commercial Court Walls of old Belfast photographs and memorabilia Free entry to the pub sessions Four sister bars within the same few yards
Good to know before you go:

The Duke is a regular fixture in Belfast's trad calendar and takes part in city-wide session trails through the year. Belfast also hosts Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in August 2026, when the Cathedral Quarter sessions run far beyond their usual hours.

Before you set off

What to bring

  • 🎶An ear for a tuneTraditional sessions are free to sit in on — you just find a seat and listen.
  • 🕑An eye on the timeAfternoon sessions suit families; most rooms turn over-18s later in the evening.
  • 💷A bit of cashFor food, and for the hat if the musicians pass one round.
  • 📱The what’s-on pageSession nights and gigs move around — check before you travel.
Good to know

Everything before you go

Type
Historic city-centre pub with live and traditional music
Who it's for
Adults for the most part. Accompanied under-18s are allowed in the bar until 9pm under NI licensing law, which makes the Sunday afternoon session the only realistic family window. Evenings are for grown-ups.
Music
Live music Thursday to Sunday including trad, acoustic and rock; traditional session Sunday from around 5pm. Check the pub's what's-on before you travel, as session nights change.
Tickets
Free in for the pub sessions. Gigs in the sister venues may be ticketed.
When
Monday to Saturday 11.30am to 1am, Sunday 1pm to 9pm
Parking
No pub car park. Use the city-centre multi-storeys around Cathedral Quarter and walk in, or take the train to Lanyon Place or Great Victoria Street.
Address
7-11 Commercial Court, Belfast BT1 2NB
Questions

Before you go

Can we bring the kids?
Adults for the most part. Accompanied under-18s are allowed in the bar until 9pm under NI licensing law, which makes the Sunday afternoon session the only realistic family window. Evenings are for grown-ups.
What's the music like?
Live music Thursday to Sunday including trad, acoustic and rock; traditional session Sunday from around 5pm. Check the pub's what's-on before you travel, as session nights change.
Do I need a ticket?
Free in for the pub sessions. Gigs in the sister venues may be ticketed.
When is it on?
Monday to Saturday 11.30am to 1am, Sunday 1pm to 9pm
Getting there

The Duke of York is at 7-11 Commercial Court, Belfast BT1 2NB. No pub car park. Use the city-centre multi-storeys around Cathedral Quarter and walk in, or take the train to Lanyon Place or Great Victoria Street. Tap below for directions.

Directions on Google MapsOfficial website See it on our map
Nearby

Make more of the day

More days out around BelfastSee what else is close by More live music across NISessions, gigs and music centres
The story

The pub that pulled a quarter back to life

Commercial Court was a working entry, one of the narrow lanes that ran between Belfast's Georgian streets when the print trade and the linen trade shared the same few blocks. The Half Bap area around it went through decades where almost nobody had reason to walk down it after dark.

The Duke stayed. Then it did something smarter than simply surviving: it decorated the lane. Signs, photographs, murals, umbrellas. A pub that treated the outside of the building as part of the venue, and gave people a reason to turn the corner in daylight as well as at night.

That is why you now find visitors standing in a back alley taking photographs of a pub they are not going into. The Cathedral Quarter grew out from this spot.