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The Fleadh Cheoil (; meaning "festival of music") is an
Irish music Irish music is music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland. The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20th and into the 21st century, despite globalis ...
festival run by
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (; meaning "Society of the musicians of Ireland") is the primary Irish organisation dedicated to the promotion of the music, song, dance and the language of Ireland. The organisation was founded in 1951 and has pr ...
(CCÉ), a non-profit organisation. The festival includes live music events as well as competition. Each year a single town or city hosts the Fleadh: it has been held in
Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeath ...
,
Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the largest urban cent ...
, and
Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the midlands region with 14,607 inhabitants at the 2016 census. The town retained ...
, among others. There are various stages to the competition. In Ireland there are county and provincial competitions leading to the All-Ireland Fleadh. In Britain there are regional, then national stages of qualification for the All-Ireland. North America has two regional qualifying Fleadh Cheoil. The Mid-Atlantic Fleadh covers the Eastern Seaboard,
eastern Canada Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrador, ...
and
the Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...
. The
Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
Fleadh covers the rest of North America from Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta and Detroit to San Francisco. Competitions are divided into the following age categories: under 12, 12–15, 15–18, and over 18 (senior).


History

The first national festival of
Irish traditional music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there w ...
was held in
Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeath ...
in 1951. At its inaugural meeting in September 1951, CCÉ came up with the title of Fleadh Cheoil, aiming to make this a great national festival of traditional music. The fleadh has been held in many different venues. In the years that followed, the number of would-be competitors grew so large that qualifying stages had to be arranged at county and provincial levels. Since then, Fleadh Nua (the new fleadh), Fleadh na Breataine (an All-Britain fleadh) and regional fleadhanna in Britain, and two major fleadhanna in the USA have also become annual CCÉ events. From its beginning, the goal of the Fleadh Cheoil was to establish standards in Irish traditional music through competition. The fleadh developed as a mainly competitive event, but it also included many concerts, ,
parades A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of ...
, and sessions. Today, nearly 55 years on, fleadhanna at each level provide a platform and a meeting place for the thousands of musicians, singers and dancers who carry on the tradition. Around 20,000 performers compete in fleadhanna each year. The 2008 festival was held in
Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the midlands region with 14,607 inhabitants at the 2016 census. The town retained ...
,
County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in ho ...
and attracted an estimated crowd of 250,000 people making it Ireland's largest festival, music or otherwise. The Fleadh came to
Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the largest urban cent ...
in 2014 and 2015. The 2016 festival was held in
Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,276, ...
, County Clare and attracted an estimated crowd of 400,000 people over the nine days from 14 to 22 August. Among the visitors to the 2016 Fleadh was President
Michael D Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...
, who went to school near Ennis. 10,000 musicians took part in 2016, with 6,000 of them participating in 180 All-Ireland competitions. An estimated €38 million was spent as 80,000 visitors were in Ennis at any one time. There were 28 concerts, with five held in the 2,000-seater Shannon Aerodome at Tim Smythe Park in the town. The 2017 Fleadh Cheoil returned to Ennis from 13 to 21 August. The 2017 festival was opened by
Michael Flatley Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is an Irish-American dancer. He became known for Irish dance shows ''Riverdance'', '' Lord of the Dance'', '' Feet of Flames'', and '' Celtic Tiger Live''. Flatley's shows have played to more than 60 mil ...
, and over 450,000 people attended, peaking on the Saturday. The largest fleadh to date was 2018 in
Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
, an event estimated to have attracted over 600,000 people. The 2022 festival in Mullingar is expected to attract crowds of 600,000 people from across the country.


Competition categories

According to CCÉ's official rules for 2005: : Solo competitions shall be held for the following instruments: fiddle; two-row accordion;
concert flute The Western concert flute is a family of transverse (side-blown) woodwind instruments made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist (in British English), flutist (in Amer ...
; whistle;
piano accordion A piano accordion is an accordion equipped with a right-hand keyboard similar to a piano or organ. Its acoustic mechanism is more that of an organ than a piano, as they are both aerophones, but the term "piano accordion"—coined by Guido Deir ...
;
concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...
;
uilleann pipe The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their ...
s; harp;
mouth organ A mouth organ is any free reed aerophone with one or more air chambers fitted with a free reed. Though it spans many traditions, it is played universally the same way by the musician placing their lips over a chamber or holes in the instrument, an ...
; banjo; mandolin – excluding
banjo-mandolin The mandolin-banjo is a hybrid instrument, combining a banjo body with the neck and tuning of a mandolin. It is a soprano banjo. It has been independently invented in more than one country, variously being called mandolin-banjo, banjo-mandolin, ...
; piano; old-style melodeon;
bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or othe ...
; war pipes; miscellaneous such as three- and five-row
button accordion A button accordion is a type of accordion on which the melody-side keyboard consists of a series of buttons. This differs from the piano accordion, which has piano-style keys. Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs categorize it as a free reed aerop ...
,
piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the sou ...
, hromaticharmonica and other stringed instruments; céilí band drums; accompaniment – confined to piano, harp, guitar and
bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...
-type instruments; solo traditional singing in Irish and English; whistling;
lilting Lilting is a form of traditional singing common in the Goidelic speaking areas of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Mann. It goes under many names, and is sometimes referred to as ''diddling'' (generally in England and Scotland), ''mouth musi ...
; newly composed ballads and (newly composed songs in Irish). : Solo competitions for slow airs shall be held in all age groups for the following instruments: (a) fiddle; (b) concert flute; (c) whistle; (d)
uilleann pipe The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their ...
s; and (e) harp (as of 2010). There are also competitions for the following ensembles: duet, trio, céilí band, instrumental group (), accordion band, pipe band, and miscellaneous ensemble. The full rule set, which may change from year to year, is available from CCÉ web site in the Press Room section. Comhaltas has a constitution () in the Irish language.


Application

Towns and cities wishing to host Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann must submit several applications to Ardchomhairle an Chomaltais – the highest committee within CCÉ. Certain members of the Ardchomhairle then inspect the applicant towns and the locations that have been proposed as competition venues, before coming to a final decision several weeks after the preceding fleadh, usually in September. Once a town has been chosen to host the Fleadh, it undertakes to host the festival for two consecutive years. However, Comhaltas has the right to deny any the successful town the Fleadh for the second year if poor venues, organisational problems, etc. are demonstrated on the town's first year of hosting. On 10 September 2011, the 2012 All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil was awarded to
Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...
,
County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the historic Gaelic territory of East Breffny (''Bréifne ...
, for the third year in succession. The other towns who applied for the 2012 festival were
Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,276, ...
, County Clare; and
Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the largest urban cent ...
,
County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local au ...
. The Fleadh was held in
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
in 2013, the first time that it was held in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. One of the primary reasons for holding the Fleadh in Derry was due to that city being awarded the
UK City of Culture UK City of Culture is a designation given to a city (or a local area from 2025) in the United Kingdom for a period of one calendar year, during which the successful bidder hosts cultural festivities through culture-led regeneration for the ye ...
for 2013. In 2014, it was confirmed that the Fleadh Cheoil would be held in
Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the largest urban cent ...
for 2014 and 2015.
Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,276, ...
hosted the Fleadh in August 2016 and 2017, with
Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
hosting in 2018 and 2019.
Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeath ...
were the planned hosts for 2020 and 2021 (cancelled due to COVID-19 in Ireland), and will host in 2022. An online "FleadhFest" is planned for 2021, with a showpiece in Sligo.


See also

*
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (; meaning "Society of the musicians of Ireland") is the primary Irish organisation dedicated to the promotion of the music, song, dance and the language of Ireland. The organisation was founded in 1951 and has pr ...
*
List of All-Ireland Fleadh champions This page lists those who have won the senior title at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann title since its foundation in 1951 by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. There were no competitions in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Once you win a senior ...
*
List of venues for All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann A complete list of locations that have been the venue of the All-Ireland Fleadh, also known as Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann The Fleadh Cheoil (; meaning "festival of music") is an Irish music festival run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CC ...


References


External links


Official Fleadh Cheoil site

Rules ({{lang, ga, Na rialacha)
set by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Annual events in Ireland Traditional music festivals in Ireland Celtic music festivals Music festivals established in 1951 1951 establishments in Ireland