Ballina Fleadh to feature on TV Ireland tonight
TV Ireland will broadcast a special programme on the Connacht Fleadh in Ballina tonight (Thursday, January 25) at 7 p.m. on Sky Channel 186.
The programme presented by Henry McGlade will feature musicians, singers and dancers from all over the west of Ireland who travelled to Ballina last summer in the hope of winning Connaught titles.
The Connacht Council of Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Éireann (CCÉ) awarded the 2023 Connacht Fleadh to Ballina to coincide with the 300th centenary of the town. Moy Valley and Bofield branches of Comhaltas joined forces to stage the event.
Around 2,000 competitors competed in the Fleadh competitions in St. Mary’s Secondary school in a bid to qualify for Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann - the All-Ireland Fleadh in Mullingar.
In addition to the competitions, a major Fleadh street programme of events took place in the centre of the town during the week leading into the Fleadh, which included workshops, céilíthe, street entertainment and pub sessions.
The Connacht Fleadh and community Fleadh, which coincided with Ballina’s 300th centenary, was an opportunity to showcase the best of traditional music in the west and promote the tradition amongst young people and foster pride of culture and place and be a major cultural tourism attraction.The Bonniconlon Drama Society performed a pageant in the Jackie Clarke Museum, based on the Great Famine in Bofield, as performed at the opening of the Hunger Museum in Manhattan in 2002.
Mary Gallagher, grandniece of Éamonn Ceannt, one of the leaders of the Easter 1916 Rising, gave a lecture on his life and commitment to the Irish tradition and to playing his uilllean pipes.
The Jackie Clarke Collection secured the loan of the 1916 leader's pipes from the Curragh Military Museum and they were was on display during the week of the Fleadh.
Uilleann piper Eamonn Walsh gave a rendition on Ceannt’s historical set of pipes which date back to 1830.
John McDonnell, chairman of the Connacht Fleadh committee, thanked Anne Marie Forbes, curator of the Jackie Clarke Collection, for hosting the Eamonn Ceannt event. He paid tribute to the many Fleadh sponsors, volunteers, local organisations and individuals who worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the Fleadh.
The event, he said, was a huge success and it drew crowds from all over Ireland throughout the week including overseas visitors from San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia.
The 2024 Connacht Fleadh will be hosted in Strokstown, Co. Roscommon.
PRO Eamonn Walsh added: “The recent Connacht Fleadh in Ballina is a stepping stone to another All-Ireland Fleadh for the town and county and he has paid tribute to Mayo County Council for their financial support down through the years. “Without the financial support of Mayo County Council, there would never be a Fleadh in the county,” he said.
Dr. Labhrás O’Murchú, former Senator and director general of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, described the Connacht Fleadh in Ballina as the finest provincial Fleadh he has ever attended and said: “Ballina ticks all the boxes for an All-Ireland Fleadh. It’s understood that Ballina are earmarking the 2027/2028 Fleadh.
“The All-Ireland Fleadh attracts over 500,000 visitors and generates in the region of €60 million to the local economy. A meeting is set to take place between local Comhaltas groups, Mayo County Council and various organisations in Ballina in the coming weeks to discuss the feasibility of staging the mammoth event.”