Councillors effusive in praise of fleadh

The success of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann was the subject of much commendation by members of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad at their September meeting, where the executive confirmed that in the region of 600,000 people had attended, and the event had been worth €60m to the local economy.

The subject was raised by Cllr Bill Collentine, who suggested that the district acknowledge all parties involved in the fleadh, while in a separate motion, Cllr Emily Wallace proposed that the district look to build on the success of the recent two fleadhanna and create an Irish music festival for Mullingar for 2024.

The response from the council stated that it is willing to engage with any organisation to support events proposed within the district.

Speaking on his motion, Cllr Collentine praised the way people had worked together to create what he believed to be the best fleadh ever.

He extended thanks to the fleadh committee, the gardaí, Westmeath County Council, property owners for decorating their businesses, voluntary groups, business people and the people who visited Mullingar.

Cllr Collentine also thanked the TÚS workers, those on CE schemes, the Tidy Towns personnel, the taxis and the media. “It proves what can be done with the community and everyone working together,” he said.

Cllr Wallace said thanks were also due to the Westmeath Childcare Committee. She said Mullingar has always been known as a music capital as well as being the heartlands – and it had certainly put the beat in the heart.

“And we need to ensure that is not lost,” she said, adding that as far back as March and April people were visiting Mullingar as a result of the reputation built up from last year.

“The trains were packed; the buses were packed. We brought people to the centre of the country to showcase what is all good about not just traditional Irish music, but music in general.”

Cllr Wallace went on to praise also the Bachelor Festival and to welcome the fact that it is to be an annual event: “We need to be aware of the opportunity here in its own right to have an event where we can bring people to Mullingar that will benefit everyone.

“It takes a bit of work but if we lose the momentum we will not get the opportunity again and I thoroughly believe that. It’s no good having a museum with things stuck in behind glass cases. This is bringing people to the community.”

Cllr Ken Glynn supported the points made and thanked the council’s outdoor staff and the volunteers and also the fleadh committee.

He said Westmeath County Council now had the expertise to promote the town, and he wondered if it would be worth working with the local businesses to have street fests. “It’s a huge opportunity,” he said.

Cllr Denis Leonard felt a letter of thanks should go from the executive to the Fleadh Executive Committee and also to the council’s outdoor staff.

He went on to say he supported the notion of an Irish music festival, but wondered how Irish music would be defined. He stressed too that the festivals would be nothing without the musicians.

Adding his voice to the thanks was Cllr Mick Dollard, but he was disappointed that there was more anti-social behaviour this year than last.

He also pointed out that for ongoing events a strong organising committee is needed, but it can be difficult to get enough volunteers.

Cllr Hazel Smyth said it had been amazing to see so many people give up their time voluntarily to make sure that the event was a huge success, and similarly with the Westmeath Bachelor festival. She said the wide streets made Mullingar suitable for festivals and she would like to see more of them.

Also praising the fleadh was Cllr Aoife Davitt, and she hoped when festivals take place in the future, they provide something for all groups.

The mayor, Cllr John Shaw, also extended praise to the fleadh committee and the council staff and the volunteers and those behind the bachelor festival. He felt there should be a review of both events to see if a template could be devised from them and used for future festivals.

Funding

In a further motion Cllr Collentine asked that the district explore the possibility of having bigger funding for festivals and events in 2024, to which the response from the district stated that the provision of budgets for festival and events is a matter for consideration as part of the annual budgeting process.

“There must be other sources of funding other than the budget available somewhere that can be tapped into for this kind of thing because these festivals can’t happen without money,” Cllr Collentine said.

His view was that the council should be looking now at where it can source funding for next year: “We need to encourage more festivals and events into Mullingar. This is needed to bring more tourism visitors and for the sake of our businesses and the town.”

“It was one of the best fleadhanna there ever was in Ireland,” he said adding that as a result, Mullingar is in a positive mood: “To carry on we need to have more investments like the Bachelor Festival, which was well run and successful.”

Cllr Collentine said the town needs “something steady, that brings people together, brings people into town. And we need to work on this. This is a serious thing,” he said.

Cllr Dollard said the members need to write to finance officer Jim Dalton and make this point – especially now it has been announced that the council is to receive extra Local Property Tax funding. He proposed formally that that course be followed.

A suggestion that a similar request be made of Fáilte Ireland was made by Cllr Denis Leonard, who stressed that allocations should be sought not just for Mullingar but for all of Westmeath.

The importance of funding was also addressed by Cllr Wallace, who wondered if it would be possible to enter into public, private partnerships and cautioned about spreading their own budget too thinly.