One of the most highly anticipated events in the annual traditional music calendar, and according to the organisers, the largest gathering of its kind in the world, is Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann which opened this weekend. Mullingar is the setting for this gargantuan gathering for the second year in a row, with expected attendances estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands. Musicians, dancers, singers, storytellers, Irish language lovers and listeners converged this weekend for the start of a nine- day marathon, where tunes, songs and dance steps will be traded.
The Fleadh Cheoil is the brainchild of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, and was founded in 1951. From modest beginnings, where four traditional music families along with the Pipers’ Club conceived the initial idea of bringing traditional music players and listeners together, it has evolved to a point where it is supported by more than 440 Comhaltas branches worldwide, stretching from Ireland to Japan, Argentina, Australia and North America.
At the heart of the Fleadh are its competitions and its classes. Musicians who compete at the Fleadh have qualified through their county and provincial fleadhanna to earn a much-coveted place at the national fleadh. Competitions will be held in music, song, dance and the Irish language, across all ages and featuring every instrument played in the tradition. There’s no doubting the power of an All Ireland title, but what participants value most highly is the annual re-ignition of the camaraderie that the Fleadh engenders. Tunes and songs are swapped, along with their seed, breed and generation, for the delectation and delight of performer and listener alike.
Scoil Éigse, the Fleadh’s summer school, is a thriving space where learners are taught by the crème de la crème of the tradition. Street and snug sessions abound, alongside céilithe and concerts: all offering a testimony to the rude state of health in which the tradition finds itself, and much to the amazement of many who feared for its future just a few short decades ago.