My Fleadh:Ruth Illingworth

How was your fleadh, was it busy?

“It was a great week, I really enjoyed it,” says historian Ruth Illingworth, who says she had “literally waited a lifetime for the fleadh to come back to Mullingar” because she was just three weeks old the last time it was here.

“It was very exciting. I was doing walking tours and they went very well, with big crowds. The Waterways Association asked me to do a couple of tours for them on the history of the canal as part of the Float to the Fleadh. I also did a couple of talks on the cultural heritage of Mullingar in the library. And I did a couple of tours on the Hill of Uisneach. Overall it was a really enjoyable event.”

Did you get to see much music?

“I did at the gig rigs, which were brilliant – particularly the one in Blackhall. Such a marvellous setting and it worked out ideally. I enjoyed seeing all the musicians on the streets, and I got to one of the concerts in the Arts Centre and it was excellent.

“You couldn’t get to everything, there was so much going on, but I loved seeing all the children on the street playing. And on the Friday night, on the main gig rig, there seemed to be the whole of Ballynacargy there and that was excellent.”

“I think it coped very well. I think a lot of people were a little bit nervous beforehand, particularly when you heard the numbers coming to the town mentioned, but the volunteers, the county council, and everyone involved did a great job.

“I remember on Friday night standing and looking up and down street, and all you could see were people, all you could hear was music and this murmur of conversation everywhere. It’s a credit to the town and I think the officials put a lot into it.

“I thought the gardaí were excellent, it was community policing at its best. They were there, they were very friendly but they were very visible, and there was no chance of anybody stepping out of line.”

“There were so many– the launch for one. To see so many people, I think the garda figures suggested the launch saw over 8,500 people attend.

“The Ukrainian concert on the Market Square was very moving, and it was so nice that Comhaltas made a presentation to them. It was a really special moment.

“Also the TG4 tribute to Ashling Murphy was so poignant, and particularly because the song ‘When You Were Sweet Sixteen’, was her favourite song. Of course, the Furey Brothers were winners here back in the 1963 Fleadh. Finbar Furey won a gold medal in one category, and the rest of them won it another category. They were the Coolock Comhaltas branch back in 1963.

“The boats up on the canal harbour was another spectacle. I mean there were 30 or 40 boats up there. It's not too often we see that!”