Féile an Phobail (''The Community's Festival''), also known as the West Belfast Festival is a community arts organisation known for its ''August Féile'' (Festival). The organisation is prominent for its promotion of Irish and international culture. The festival takes place on and around Falls Road in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Northern Ireland.BBC Programme – Féile an Phobail
– 20 Years OnFéile is back
– CultureNorthernIreland.orgFéile an Phobail
– Official website

History

Foundations

The festival was established in 1988 as a direct response to

the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

, and specifically after the events of March 1988. The

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...

killed three

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

members in

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. At one of the funerals of the three, an

Ulster loyalist Ulster loyalism is a strand of Unionism in Ireland, Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland (and formerly all of I ...

paramilitary attacked the funeral with grenades and pistols, killing three mourners (see

Milltown Cemetery attack The Milltown Cemetery attack (also known as the Milltown Cemetery killings or Milltown massacre) took place on 16 March 1988 at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast, Northern Ireland. During the large funeral of three Provisional Irish Republican Arm ...

). At the funeral of one of the mourners, two plainclothes British servicemen were killed when they drove into a funeral procession (see Corporals killings). The community of west Belfast came under intense media scrutiny and was described by the

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

as a "terrorist community". Seeing this portrayal of his community as negative, misleading and damaging,

Gerry Adams Gerard Adams (; born 6 October 1948) is a retired Irish Republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. From 1983 to 19 ...

gathered a small amount of friends and various local groups to organise a community festival. Its purpose was to celebrate the positive side of the community: its creativity, its energy, its passion for the arts and for sport. The ''Féile'' was, and is, aimed at providing events and entertainment at a price that the majority of the community could afford.City Rocks During Festival
– BBC NI In August 1988 the first festival opened with a relatively humble parade of floats and bands and

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

clubs walking in their club regalia to an open-air party in Dunville Park. Street parties were organised throughout the west of the city. Door-to-door collections were made to fund day trips to the seaside for pensioners and outings for young people.

Present

Féile an Phobail has garnered resounding praise and has grown to one of the largest community festivals in Europe.Féile an Phobail: 20 Years On
–

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

The carnival parade routinely brings together over 20,000 participants for a colourful, musical procession with specially designed floats representing a chosen theme, dancers and children in costume and face-masks. It has grown from a one-week festival to a year-round programme with many events. It established the first ever children's arts festival in Northern Ireland,Inquiry into Cultural Tourism and the Arts
–

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

the ''Draíocht Children's Arts Festival'', with activities ranging from sports to multi-cultural and educational events through both Irish and English. In 2003, 6,000 children and young people participated in Draíocht events. The festival also has its own radio station, Féile FM. The station initially broadcast across Belfast for two one-month periods in the spring and summer, during which young volunteers were professionally trained in media and management skills for free. In 2007, the radio was successful in securing a full-time licence, and now broadcasts seven days a week, throughout Belfast. Some trainees have gone on to find employment in the local media, including UTV,

BBC Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. BBC Northern Ireland is one of the four BB ...

and Irish News Online in Belfast.Féile FM
– History In May 2009, Féile an Phobail launched Belfast's first dedicated comedy festival, ''Laugh at the Bank''. During the 15 August 2021 event, DUP councilors called for public funding to be stopped due to pro-IRA chanting during The Wolfe Tones performance.

Festivals

Féile an Phobail runs numerous festivals throughout the year. Among the festivals are: * August Féile (Féile Lúnasa) – oldest project. Among Europe's largest community festivals, runs in August * Féile an Earraigh – Springtime Irish traditional music festival * Draíocht – annual children's festival beginning in mid-October * Stand up in the West – monthly comedy night in Belfast's Western Bar, no longer running * Laugh at the Bank – Belfast's first comedy festival. Launched May 2009

Performers

Féile an Phobail has rostered national and international acts to perform with local musicians, catering for all tastes in dancing and music: from Irish traditional music to

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

and pop. Notable acts include Altan, Brian Kennedy, Mary Black, the Afro-Cuban All Stars, the Harlem Gospel Choir,

Westlife Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...

and

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

. Local poets and writers have read their works on the same podium as renowned authors such as Patrick Mc Cabe,

Roddy Doyle Roderick Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been ...

and Evelyn Conlon. The festival has hosted the works of Ireland's leading playwrights and theatre companies, and has been the launching pad for world premiers, such as Frank McGuinness's ''Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'' and Marie Jones' ''A Night in November'' by Dubbeljoint Productions. The discussion and debates have included talks by world-class journalists and documentary makers including

Robert Fisk Robert William Fisk (12 July 194630 October 2020) was an English writer and journalist. He was critical of United States foreign policy in the Middle East, and the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians. As an international correspo ...

(''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''),

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...

(Oscar Winner) and have witnessed Gregory Campbell (

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...

) on the same panel as Alex Maskey (

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

) at the annual West Belfast Talks Back.

List of notable performers/speakers

Other

Féile an Phobail has hosted notable artists and painters from Ireland and abroad and hosts a festival-long exhibition in St. Mary's University College. Other community exhibitions take place around West Belfast, organised by community groups in association with the August Féile.

References

External links

*
20 Years On
– BBC documentary about Féile an Phobail {{DEFAULTSORT:Feile An Phobail Festivals in Belfast Arts festivals in Northern Ireland Music festivals in Northern Ireland Tourist attractions in County Antrim Comedy in Northern Ireland Children's festivals in the United Kingdom Tourism in County Antrim 1988 establishments in Northern Ireland