Huge crowds return for fleadh opening

There was a great buzz around town for the opening of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann on Sunday as crowds descended on the town. A couple of heavy, but short, showers were quickly replaced with bursts of blue skies and sunshine as Mullingar Fleadh 2023 got off to a rousing start.

The music was going strong on the Gig Rig from 11am and buskers were busy along streets lined with pop-up shops and stalls, food vendors and ice-cream vans.

Roisin O’Connor from Tullamore has been attending fleadhanna “since I was a bump”. She said last year’s fleadh was “phenomenal, great craic, I loved the atmosphere”.

Roisin plays the flute and the fiddle as does her mother Attracta Brady. Attracta knows more than most what is involved in organising a fleadh as she was chairperson of the committee that organised the 2007, 2008 and 2009 fleadhanna in Tullamore.

“Because it is a worldwide event, you have people from different time zones contacting you at all hours, so it’s a 24-hour-a-day job,” she joked. “You will see generations at the fleadh,” she promised.

The Rose of Tralee, Rachel Duffy from Rosemount, was also at the official opening. She sang at last year’s opening as the Westmeath Rose, just weeks before her crowning at the Tralee festival.

“The year is nearly over and I’ve just a couple of weeks left before I pass over the sash,” she remarked. She says that winning the Rose of Tralee was the best thing that ever happened to her and she has found it an incredible experience. “I am delighted I took the chance and signed up,” she said.

On being crowned, Rachel decided to “give it my all”. She withdrew from the Masters course she was about to start and spent the year doing four to five “Rose events” a week – community, cultural and charity events.

She travelled with the Hope Foundation to India, to other European countries and twice to America. Each trip was different and the year has been a huge learning experience, she said. “It’s only looking back that I see how much I have grown – what would have been daunting for me last September came naturally by spring. I learned more in the year as Rose than I would ever in college.”

Rachel feels the fleadh is great for the town. The town gets a good makeover and people feel a pride in what is good about their place.

Among those who travelled for the fleadh were Betsy Daly and Mark James from Pennsylvania in the US. Betsy’s grandparents were from Castletown Geoghegan and Mark is a music enthusiast who plays many instruments and loves Irish music. They hope to attend many of the ticketed events as they are hugely impressed by the lineout. They also hope to attend the Dublin Horse Show one of the days.

“We can’t wait to savour a week of good music, song and dance and we might even try to learn a few words of Irish,” Betsy said.