Half Moon Oxford

Home
United Kingdom
Oxford
Half Moon Oxford

Traditional Oxford Pub with Irish Roots 🇮🇪 Warm Fire, Cold Guinness & Great Company 🍻

28/08/2026

📣 WE ARE HIRING 📣

Would you like to join our small team here at the Half Moon, Oxford?

All levels of experience welcome

SIA license holders and Personal license holders encouraged to apply

Flexible hours and competitive rates

Email us your CV at [email protected] or DM us

24/08/2026

Oxford’s newest country night returns on Friday 28th August with Brook Ellingworth and HUX playing a night of original songs from Nashville Tennessee

8pm start. Bring your boots and get stuck into some cold beer! See you there 🤠

21/08/2026

The Last Tuesday returns featuring Oxford’s deep-groove-meisters Time Is Of The Essence.

The band consists of virtuoso guitarist Peter Oxley, founder and band leader of the world renowned Hejira - Celebrating Joni Mitchell and includes the superb Ollie Weston on sax (ex Amy Winehouse), the ever inventive Martin Pickett on keys and Rick Finlay on drums, the beating heart of Hejira.

Fresh from their ground breaking American Hejira tour, Pete, Ollie and Rick step straight into our setting for an intimate gig, which is a fixed feature in our monthly calendar.

You can book your seat for free by emailing [email protected]. There is limited availability so get in touch to avoid disappointment.

Free entry, doors from 7pm, 8pm start

26/07/2026

🎻 Tune of the Week: Molly Quinlan’s Jig 🎻

This week’s tune is Molly Quinlan’s Jig, a lively double jig that has been part of the Irish traditional repertoire since at least the turn of the twentieth century. The tune appears in Francis O’Neill’s landmark collection The Music of Ireland (1903), although its exact origins are uncertain.

Here we have it played by Callum Beck and Jack Evans 🎶

We don’t know whether Molly Quinlan was a real person - perhaps a local dancer or musician - but we do know that the name Molly appears again and again throughout Irish music. Molly Malone, Handsome Molly, the list goes on… That’s because Molly is a derivative of the name Mary, which has been one of the most common names in Ireland for centuries.

Sláinte, and enjoy this week’s tune! 🍀

21/07/2026

The Last Tuesday returns full time featuring Oxford’s deep-groove-meisters Time Is Of The Essence.

The band consists of virtuoso guitarist Peter Oxley, founder and band leader of the world renowned Hejira - Celebrating Joni Mitchell and includes the superb Ollie Weston on sax (ex Amy Winehouse), the ever inventive Martin Pickett on keys and Rick Finlay on drums, the beating heart of Hejira.

Fresh from their ground breaking American Hejira tour, Pete, Ollie and Rick step straight into our setting for an intimate gig, which is now a fixed feature in our monthly calendar.

You can book your seat for free by emailing [email protected]. There is limited availability so get in touch to avoid disappointment.

Free entry, doors from 7pm, 8pm start

05/07/2026

🎻 Tune of the Week: The Moving Cloud 🎻

This week’s tune is The Moving Cloud. The tune is played throughout Ireland and far beyond, but it is particularly associated with County Clare, a region renowned for its distinctive fiddle style and deep-rooted session culture.

The tune is generally credited to the renowned Donegal fiddler and composer Néillidh Boyle, who is believed to have written it in the early 1940s. It has now become a staple of Irish folk sessions and has been recorded by musicians around the world.

What’s your favourite folk tune?

28/06/2026

🎻 Tune of the Week: The Ballydesmond Polka 🎻

This week’s tune is the Ballydesmond Polka, one of the best-known melodies from the rich musical tradition of County Cork. Named after the village of Ballydesmond, which sits on the Cork–Kerry border, the tune is closely associated with the lively Sliabh Luachra region—a place renowned for its distinctive style of traditional music.

Unlike a lot of Irish traditional music, which is dominated by reels and jigs, Sliabh Luachra became famous for its polkas and slides. These dance tunes arrived from mainland Europe during the 19th century and were enthusiastically adopted by local musicians, eventually becoming a defining feature of the region’s musical identity.

🎬 Callum Beck

23/06/2026

The Half Moon is delighted to welcome back Oxford’s deep-groove-meisters Time Is Of The Essence on Monday 29th June for a very special and intimate performance.

The band consists of virtuoso guitarist Peter Oxley , founder and band leader of the world renowned Hejira - Celebrating Joni Mitchell and includes the superb Ollie Weston on sax (ex Amy Winehouse), the ever inventive Martin Pickett on keys and Rick Finlay on drums, the beating heart of Hejira.

Free entry, doors from 7pm, 8pm start

Seating is limited so be sure to arrive early to avoid disappointment!

21/06/2026

🎻 Folk Tune of the Week: The Mug of Brown Ale 🎻

This week’s tune is The Mug of Brown Ale, a much-loved Irish jig that has been passed down through generations of musicians. Like many traditional tunes, its true origins are uncertain, but it appears in collections dating back to the late 19th century and has survived as a session favourite ever since.

Known also by titles such as The Clare Jig and Old Man Dillon, the tune has travelled far beyond Ireland, becoming part of the shared repertoire of traditional musicians around the world.

Its cheerful melody captures something at the heart of Irish traditional music: good company, good stories, and tunes that are meant to be shared.

What’s your favourite folk tune?

🎬 Callum Beck

14/06/2026

🎻 Folk Song of the Week: Handsome Molly 🎻

This Appalachian folk ballad tells the story of a young man reflecting on lost love and longing. Like many Appalachian folk songs, it carries echoes of older English, Scottish and Irish musical traditions brought across the Atlantic.

The song has been recorded by many artists over the years, including Mick Jagger, whose rendition at our folk night last Sunday made global headlines this week (a pleasure to host you, Sir).

Our folk session runs every Sunday from 8 till late and musicians of all abilities are welcome. Join us this week for another evening of tunes, songs, and good company.

What's your favourite folk song?

🎤 Mick Jagger
🎬

Address

17 St Clement's Street
Oxford
OX41AB

Website

http://www.halfmoonoxford.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Half Moon Oxford posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to Half Moon Oxford:

Want your establishment to be the top-listed Bar/pub in Oxford?