After 25 years visiting Ireland both as a music writer and a tourist, Colin Irwin goes in search of Irish music in Ireland—not in big concert halls or grand arenas, but in the small pubs in remote areas where the locals habitually gravitate for those informal sessions that invariably develop into a serious social occasion universally known as the craic. For those who play it, it is not a style of music, but a way of life, producing its own culture and characters. Conversations with such leading Irish musicians as Christy Moore, Donal Lunny, Paddy Moloney, Martin Hayes, Andy Irvine, Cara Dillon, Paul Brady, and Frankie Gavin are detailed; they tell Colin about their experiences and direct him to places where the craic is mightiest. This is the story of Colin’s journey into Ireland's musical soul and the extraordinary characters he meets along the way.