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Not for the faint-hearted: How Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann works, and what to see at the 2023 festival

The biggest gathering of the traditional music calendar kicks off next weekend. Here’s our guide to the event

Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann: harp players at last year's festival. Photograph: Alan Betson

Siobhán Long's face
Siobhán Long
Mon Jul 31 2023 - 05:15

So what’s happening in Co Westmeath next weekend?

The nine-day Fleadh Ceoil na hÉireann – the biggest annual gathering of traditional musicians, singers, dancers and Irish-language speakers, not to mention audiences, of both the avid and the casual variety – kicks off on Sunday, August 6th, in Mullingar, where it’s being held for the second year in a row. The fleadh also features competitions in every musical instrument and all forms of song and dance, both individual and group, as well as contests in conversational Irish. With its marathon run, this is not an event for the faint-hearted.

Whose idea was it?

The fleadh, which was founded in 1951, is run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. The first Fleadh Cheoil was also hosted by Mullingar. Next year’s will be in Wexford. Towns vie with one another to host the festival, which has been held almost every year since it began. Only Covid halted its gallop, in 2020 and 2021. Comhaltas, which claims that last year’s event attracted more than 500,000 people, says it’s aiming for 560,000 people this year.

Thronged streets at last year's Fleadh in Mullingar

More than 500,000 people? Where will they all stay?

Many are day-trippers. Savvy stayers will have booked accommodation as soon as Mullingar was announced as this year’s host town. Hotels, B&Bs, campsites and couches across and beyond Westmeath will all be occupied for the nine days of the gathering. There’s also accommodation on the campus of the University of Maynooth, in Co Kildare, a 40-minute drive from Mullingar.

And what’s Scoil Éigse?

This is the fleadh’s intensive summer school – this year’s runs from Monday, August 7th, until Friday, August 11th – where more than 40 of the tradition’s leading exponents tutor up-and-coming players, singers and dancers. Classes will be available in banjo, bodhrán, button accordion, concertina, fiddle, flute, harp, piano accompaniment, piano accordion, sean-nós dancing, traditional singing, uilleann pipes and tin whistle. Masterclasses will also be available to all students.

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So this is trad music’s equivalent of the GAA championships?

Yes. Every competition is held across four age groups: under-12s, 12-15 years, 15-18 years and over-18s. So whether it’s banjo, accordion, fiddle, whistle, harp, pipes, concertina, bodhrán or a myriad other instruments, musicians get to compete mano a mano, playing traditional tunes of their own choosing. There are competitions for set dancing, figure dancing and sean-nós dancing, as well as grúpa ceoil competitions for ensembles, and céilí band competitions.

Then there are competitions in both Irish- and English-language conversation skills. Each category has between 12 and 15 competitors, who have qualified from their county fleadh first, and then from their provincial fleadh. There are also competitors who travel from abroad – mainly the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia, although this year there are also dancers travelling from Singapore to compete.

A street dancer at the 2022 event

Do many of the winners go on to make a living as professional musicians?

Some do. Past winners include the renowned fiddle players Liz Carroll, Martin Hayes, Zoë Conway, Eileen Ivers and Cathal Hayden, the flute player Matt Molloy, the piper David Power and the harper Máire Ní Chathasaidh. But the real passion lies in playing for pleasure, swapping tunes and forging friendships that can last a lifetime. The social side of the fleadh is almost as important as the music, song and dance are.

Is all this competition good for our traditional music, song and dance?

Most musicians who take part talk about the discipline that a competition instils in a player, but some have serious reservations. They say the “fleadh tunes” can dominate their playing to such an extent that it can stop them developing a real repertoire and stymie their participation in sessions. It’s like any form of creative expression: some players will fall into the trap of overlearning a small repertoire of tunes, then struggle when it comes to the free-for-all that is the joy of a session.

Outside of the competitions, what are the sessions like?

Many are electrifying. Whether in a snug, in a kitchen or on the street, the fleadh – whose theme this year is “The Homecoming: Again” – is all about rekindling friendships. As a bonus, musicians get to expand their repertoire, to sustain them for another year.

There seems to be a strong family vibe to the fleadh

Yes, there is. Traditional music, song and dance have been handed down from generation to generation, so it’s natural for families to attend first for the competitions and then return, after they’ve left the competitive arena, for the sheer craic of the annual gathering. Whether you’re a world-renowned traditional musician or a novice with a handful of tunes, the fleadh has a welcome for everyone.

Young musicians take part in a street session at Fleadh 2022

What do the folks who take part say about it?

“The real positive I got out of the fleadh was the social side of it: meeting new people, hearing new musicians and getting to play with them,” says Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, the singer, multi-instrumentalist and Skipper’s Alley member. “As a teenager, making friends with musicians who were my own age was a massive factor in my musical development. Traditional music is such a social, collaborative music. You’d come away from it very energised by the tunes you’d had or the people you’d heard play.

“The Fleadh Cheoil was a huge part of my development as a musician,” says David Howley, who’s a solo artist as well as a member of We Banjo 3. “It’s a unique ecosystem, a community held together by ‘competitions’ that serve as a benchmark within the tradition, a reason to practise and move towards excellence. For me it was less about competing or winning and more about the way it pushed me to grow and the tribe of like-minded young musicians willing and wanting to play tunes until dawn. A rebellious group of misfits and trad outcasts, all leading the revolution under the watchful eyes of our patient parents.

“I had some of my first crushes, my first drinks and my first tastes of heartbreak on those sunny weekends in towns like Clonmel and Listowel. Even now I keep in touch with friends that stretch out the length and breadth of the country – friendships forged in the corners of pubs, long nights and the hope to squeeze those last few tunes before final call.

What are some of the highlights of this year’s fleadh?

Street sessions: If you want to soak up the atmosphere, stroll around the town and you’ll get to hear some of the best traditional music in the country. Dancers will be stepping it out, impromptu groups will form on street corners and tunes will resonate across the town from morning until late into the evening.

Scoil Éigse: As well as the daily classes, there will be a chance for students to join the tutors in concert on Wednesday, August 9th, at 3pm, and a huge Seisiún Mór on Thursday, August 10th, at 2.30pm. You can also catch afternoon recitals at 2.30pm on Monday, August 7th, and Tuesday, August 8th.

Opening concert: Four Men & A Dog with Enda Scahill, Dave Munnelly, Mick Conneely and Shane MacGowan. Sunday, August 6th, 8pm, Mullingar Park Hotel. The irrepressible box player and composer Máirtín O’Connor will be the special guest of Four Men & A Dog. Enda Scahill is the 2022 winner of the prestigious Steve Martin Banjo Award (yes, that Steve Martin, comedian, actor and bluegrass musician) and a member of We Banjo 3; he’ll be joined by three stellar musicians for a rake of tunes.

Inclusive trad disco: Wednesday, August 9th, 1pm, Mullingar Town Band Hall. A fun and inclusive dance experience for adults with disabilities and their friends and families. Booking essential.

Martin Hayes, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Cormac McCarthy and Matthew Berrill: Cathedral of Christ the King, Wednesday, August 9th, 7pm. The east Clare fiddle player Martin Hayes has unveiled the inner beauty of countless tunes to new listeners, and his seminal collaborations with everyone from the late Dennis Cahill to his compadres in The Gloaming have celebrated the limitless capabilities of the tradition. The Cúl Aodha singer Iarla Ó Lionáird is a member of The Gloaming and an accomplished solo performer and academic. He will be joined by the Cork-born pianist and jazz innovator Cormac McCarthy and by Matthew Berrill, a musician fluent in the language of jazz, traditional and improvised music.

Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2023 runs from Sunday, August 6th, until Monday, August 14th

Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireannWestmeath