Food Fleadh Ballina postponed due to Mayo GAA odyssey

SINCE its inception in 2014, Food Fleadh Ballina has become an established event in the Mayo calendar of festivals, building a reputation as one of the region's most enjoyable, family-friendly events showcasing the best of the county's food offering. 

The festival was due to take place at the weekend but, in what the organisers describe as 'exceptional times' for the Mayo senior men's Gaelic football team, the committee and Ballina Chamber of Commerce have made the decision to postpone this year's festival due to the scheduled replay against Kerry on Saturday (August 26). 

Food Fleadh Ballina has now been re-scheduled for the weekend of September 8/9. 

The chairman of the festival, Gerry Luskin, explained the decision: “After a lot of soul-searching in light of the All-Ireland semi-final replay, the Food Fleadh Ballina committee has decided to postpone the event in order to ensure the best possible outcome for participating businesses and a better experience for our visitors. 

“The decision was not taken lightly. However, we felt that, unfortunately, as a community-run event in football-mad Mayo, we are simply not in a position to compete with the incredible draw of Mayo GAA as they continue on their unprecedented journey. 

“The county's involvement in this replay would significantly compromise attendance at the Food Fleadh Market, and will also place unforeseen demand on the hospitality businesses who partake in the market. Rather than compromise on quality for our businesses and attendees, we have taken the decision to postpone, with the hope that the rescheduled festival will deliver on its promise to be the biggest and best Food Fleadh Ballina yet.â€

Ballina Chamber's Mags Downey-Martin added: “As a Chamber of Commerce, Ballina Chamber has a responsibility to the businesses who give up their time to contribute to the success of this much-loved event. We want to ensure that it benefits them, and we want to give the event the best possible opportunity for success. We also want to ensure that our visitors get the best possible experience on the day. 

“Food Fleadh Ballina is about showcasing the best of Irish food, and we are already looking forward to the rescheduled Food Fleadh Market on Saturday, September 9. Any food businesses who may be interested in participating still have an opportunity to come on board, and of course we wish the Mayo team and management the very best of luck in their much-anticipated replay against Kerry.â€

It is estimated that Mayo supporters made up at least 60% of the crowd at Sunday's game, which was attended by over 66,000 supporters. That equates to almost 40,000 people with a Mayo connection, and implies that a significant proportion of the county's population of 130,000 made the journey to Croke Park. A similar attendance is anticipated for the replay on Saturday, which throws in at 3 p.m.

The rescheduled Food Fleadh Ballina Festival will still retain the same great programme of events, including the Saturday market under the unique cover in Ballina's Military Quarter, with its stalls, food demonstrations, a ‘Ready Steady Cook' competition, children's cookery classes and craft workshops, the inaugural Yeast Meets West craft brew fest, the Mayo On Stage musical programme, and a cocktail-making demonstrations by award-winning mixologists. 

The whiskey appreciation session with Rachel Nolan, of Rachel's Irish Adventures, will still go ahead tomorrow (Friday, August 25) at 8 p.m. in Rouse's Bar, as advertised.