‘Highlights are kids performing on the streets’

Úna Moran was helping out at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann for the second year in a row. The Dublin native, who has been living in Mullingar for 12 years, was thoroughly enjoying the fleadh celebrations in her adopted hometown.

In 2022, Úna mainly volunteered for the fleadh and was mostly stationed at Mullingar Arts Centre during the competitions. This year her role is was a photographer, which she told the Westmeath Examiner last week was “a bit more freelance”.

“We have a broad list of events that if we want to go to we can, but the rest is freelance really. And then we have a text WhatsApp group, so then somebody might say ‘Something happening at somewhere, is there a photographer there?’, so we’re in communication the whole time,” said Úna.

Deirdre McGivney and Gary McGivney are the team leaders for the photographers, and “what they do is set everyone up with a drive per day with our names, and we can actually do it at home”.

“But say if you have a load on your camera, you can meet them in our headquarters on Bishopsgate Street… and do a drop,” Úna explained.

Like last year, Úna has met lots of interesting people. “Because I’m doing photography, it’s mainly different musicians and that. A lot of children who are playing on the streets. I mainly do the mornings,” said Úna.

“It’s been so lovely, because you’re kind of immersed in it, and then you have an access-all-areas pass,” she added.

So far, Úna’s highlight of Fleadh 2023 has been seeing all the children perform in the streets. “You don’t know what they’re going to do. There were brothers and sisters, and the little brothers were kind of messing, trying play the violin, so it’s catching those moments… just seeing it build and build as well,” said Úna.

Although she is musical, last year was Úna’s first time at a fleadh. “I play piano and my little girl plays violin, but I’d never done the trad route,” she said.

Úna is certain that the Mullingar fleadh won’t be her last and she will “definitely go” to another.

Her decision to volunteer in 2022 was partially due to the pandemic. “After Covid, after being at home with the kids, I hadn’t pushed myself out there, and I just thought it [volunteering] would be a lovely way to meet more people in the town and get to know people from the trad circuit.

“And last year, doing the competitions, I got chatting to people of all different nationalities, and you just felt in a kind of buzz, or in a community… And it was nice being able to pick and choose your hours.”

Úna said this year’s fleadh is very different to last year’s. She told the Westmeath Examiner that “the main difference, I think, it just hit with a bang from day one”.

“Last year, I felt it needed till Wednesday to build. And a lot of people, I think last year, were giving out that there wasn’t enough music on the streets from the word go, whereas this year it just hit on Sunday. And it’s just even building so it’s a lot busier, an awful lot busier… And you can hear music everywhere, from the word go… it’s like a continuation.”