Bachelor Competition to take up where fleadh left off

The team behind the Westmeath Bachelor Competition have revealed ambitious plans to take up where the Fleadh Cheoil an hÉireann has left off in providing August entertainment for Mullingar.

Beginning with “congratulations and a huge thank you to all the organisers and everybody involved in Fleadh Cheoil 2023”, the bachelor team said their fleadh colleagues have made Mullingar “the entertainment capital of the country”.

In a statement the bachelor festival organisers said: “After some constructive talks with Westmeath County Council and other stakeholders, we are delighted to announce that the Westmeath Bachelor Festival will replace the fleadh in 2024 as a proposed five-day festival in Mullingar, from Wednesday July 31 to Monday August 5, 2024 – subject to relevant permissions and licenses.

“Our aim at the Westmeath Bachelor Festival has always been to make Mullingar the main destination nationally as a town centre festival and we have some extensive plans for 2024 in order to achieve this.”

Those include ‘A Beef to the Heels Food Festival’; ‘The Pub of the Town Crown’; tug-o-war; ‘Mardi Gar’ (a Mullingar version of Mardi Gras with live music and Brazilian bands); craft markets and sustainability showcases, film screenings, drama and spoken word events, busking, dog shows, a tea party and multicultural events.

For the Beef to the Heels, restaurants will be asked to compete against each other with signature beef dishes, to be judged by a celebrity chef and panel; and the Pub of the Town will involve a race for bar staff, three-legged races, tug-o-war and other contests.

“We don’t think that this will be competitive at all!” the organisers said.

They promise a mixture of free and paid-for events catering for all ages, families and cultures.

“We are already in talks with top bands about headlining the music festival and we will ensure that in years to come Mullingar will be destination number one on the August bank holiday.

“The crowning glory to the week will be the Westmeath Bachelor Competition.”

There are not many members on the organising team and they are looking for help: “If there is a specific project you would like to get involved in or have a background in, please specify that and we will endeavour to accommodate you in line with your interests.

“This is a mammoth undertaking so we need dedicated, professional people who are hard working and have good communication skills to take a leap and join us in this endeavour.

“We would also like to take this opportunity to again thank Westmeath County Council, Westmeath Community Development, LEADER, An Garda Síochána, local TDs and councillors, local media, the contestants, sponsors and especially you, who supported us so well this year and made the event the huge success it was.”

While work on those plans is beginning, preparations for the 2023 music event are nearing completion.

The ‘Biggest Bingo’ is on Friday September 8 and the following night, the Biggest 90s Disco in the Westmeath Bachelor ‘Big Top Tent’ at Blackhall will have performers such as Mark McCabe, Dario G, 2 Unlimited and more.

• Make contact at westmeathbachelorcompetition@gmail.com or call or text Tomás Nally at 086 1720635.