Comhaltas bid to bring fleadh back to Mullingar

There is “a once in a lifetime opportunity” to have Mullingar host the All Ireland fleadh in either 2021 or 2023, which could be worth upwards of €80 million to the local economy over a two-year-period.

The vice-chairman of Westmeath Comhaltas, Willie Penrose, says the county board are determined to make a strong bid in early 2018, and says they have every hope of success due to Mullingar’s historical links to Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, its central location and its infrastructure.

“A total of 450,000 people visited Ennis in nine days, 100,000 visited on the Saturday alone,” said Deputy Penrose.

“It costs €1.25m to host but it was worth €80m to the local economy, so in four or five years’ time, it could be worth €100m to the Mullingar economy and that of the midlands.”

Westmeath County Council is supporting the bid by Westmeath Comhaltas to win the right to host the national fleadh Cheoil by including a sum of €20,000 in its annual budget for 2018.

“In 2021 it will be the 70th anniversary of the founding of the fleadh in what was Reilly’s Hotel on Mount Street, which was located right beside where the Roma Cafe is today,” continues Deputy Penrose.

“The Moynihan family founded it and it came from the Aonach (fair day), which was held every year in Tristana, Ballynacargy. So, we’ve stated our intention to apply to have it come to Mullingar either in 2021, or in 2023, which is significant as well because the only national fleadh that was held in Westmeath was in Mullingar in 1961, and the year 2021 would be the 60th anniversary of it.”

Offaly, Cavan, Sligo and Ennis have all hosted the fleadh over the last 10 years, and Willie says every business would benefit, from pubs, hotels and B&Bs, to people who have houses and apartments.

“When it was held in Clare, people had to go to Limerick and Galway to get a bed. We will be going to the business community and to Mullingar Chamber looking for their support, as well as that of the GAA, the local schools, because we will need 1,500 volunteers if we are successful.”

Deputy Penrose acknowledges that while it will be a significant task to secure the bid, he believes Mullingar’s historical links, as well as a “very proactive Comhaltas board”, and our central location and infrastructure, will all act in our favour.

“The coverage for Mullingar and Westmeath would be phenomenal, there would be eight days of fleadh TV showcasing all of what Westmeath has to offer, including its lakes, its equestrian, angling, golfing activities, Belvedere House, Athlone, Tyrrellspass... RTÉ TV and radio would broadcast from here, John Creedon does six programs during the fleadh, the exposure would be phenomenal.”

There was resounding support for the bid in council chambers on Monday, where a €20,000 initial fund was allocated as part of the 2018 budget.

Cllr Johnny Penrose said it would cost €1.5m to host the event and he believed it would be worth around €40m, and he felt the council should allocate more.

He said 2021 was the 70th anniversary of its foundation and it was founded in Mullingar.

Support came from Cllr Paul Hogan, who said even though he’s an Athlone councillor, he believed it important the project had the unanimous support of the council and it would be good for all of Westmeath.

Commenting that it would be great for the area, Cllr Una D’Arcy said the council should also look at other ways of supporting the CCÉ bid, such as through training.

Cllr Andy Duncan said the Comhaltas bid deserved support as the organisation had a historical legacy in this area.

Voicing his support, council chairman, Cllr John Shaw, commented that there would probably be a need for greater allocations in the future to facilitate the fleadh.

Reacting to the points made by the council members, head of finance, Jimmy Dalton, commented that the important thing was that through the initial allocation the council had made a positive statement, and hopefully next year it would be making a bigger decision.