Belfast hosts Fleadh Cheoil for first time as visitors top one million
The world's largest Irish traditional music festival has come to Belfast for the first time, drawing over a million visitors and exceeding all forecasts with one day still to go. Only the second Fleadh ever held in Northern Ireland, it has brought cross-community participation to a city once defined by sectarian division.
A first for Belfast
Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, the world's largest annual celebration of Irish traditional music, dance and language, is being held in Belfast for the first time, running through Sunday 9 August. It is only the second time in the festival's 75-year history that it has taken place in Northern Ireland; Derry hosted the 2013 edition. The festival is organised by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ), a nonprofit that promotes traditional Irish music and culture, together with Belfast City Council and Ards CCÉ. It usually takes place in the Republic of Ireland, and it is confirmed to return to Belfast next year.
Attendance far beyond expectations
Organisers had originally predicted about 800,000 visitors over the eight days. By Friday evening, visitor numbers were estimated to have topped one million, already exceeding the original forecast with two days still remaining. The Belfast One Business Improvement District recorded a city-centre footfall of 900,020 from Sunday 2 August to Thursday 6 August alone. The Department for the Economy had predicted a £53m economic boost; on Friday it said that figure looks set to be exceeded. Some 5,000 musicians and dancers from 22 countries are taking part in the All-Ireland competitions, alongside street performances and Fleadh Fringe events.
- Derry hosts Fleadh, first edition held in Northern Ireland
- Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann begins in Belfast, the first time the festival is held in the city
- Belfast One BID records city-centre footfall of 900,020 since the festival opened
- Estimated visitor numbers top one million by Friday evening, exceeding the 800,000 prediction
- Final day of the festival, with Céilí band finale at the Gig Rig expected to draw the largest crowds
- Predicted visitors (8 days)
- 800000 people
- City-centre footfall (Aug 2–6)
- 900020 people
- Estimated visitors (Aug 7 evening)
- 1000000 people
Music as a bridge across communities
The festival has drawn participation from across Northern Ireland's communal divides. Musical bands from the Loyalist and Unionist traditions have taken part, alongside minority ethnic communities. Tunes Translated, an intercultural music integration project bringing together migrants, refugees and asylum seekers with Belfast's indigenous population, hosted a concert on Saturday with 22 different nationalities performing. Catherine Creen, the organiser, said the group uses "indigenous and international music" to bring people together. Shayan Kargaran, originally from Iran, introduced Iranian tunes to the group and said learning Irish music had been "very beautiful."
Political and public figures attend
Among those who attended the Fleadh this week were President Catherine Connolly, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Bryant, First Minister Michelle O'Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly. The cross-party presence reflected the festival's significance in a city where expressions of identity have long been contentious. Niall McClean, chair of Ards CCÉ, the host branch, said the crowds had exceeded all expectations from the very start.
I've been going to Fleadhs for 40 years and the atmosphere is always good wherever you go, but I'd been maybe a little bit sceptical with it being a complex city that it would work still, but it's been extraordinary, the streets are full of music.
A city transformed
For residents who lived through the Troubles, the three decades of sectarian conflict from the late 1960s through the 1990s, the sight of Belfast's streets filled with Irish music and dancing carries a particular weight. A so-called ring of steel once encircled Belfast's commercial heart in a security cordon to prevent paramilitary bombings. The Good Friday Agreement, signed in 1998, halted most of the violence. Maggie Smith, 66, who has lived in Belfast since her college days, recalled what the city was like during the conflict.
If anyone had told us in those days that this would be happening here, it would have been a fairy tale. We wouldn't have believed them.
The Irish language remains a strong identity marker associated with the Catholic and republican community, but interest is growing across the region. Kneecap, a Belfast trio that raps exclusively in Irish, has been at the forefront of a new generation of artists. At the MAC cultural centre, Irish language classes organised during the festival were fully booked. Jim Ingram, manager of the Friend At Hand Irish whiskey shop in the Cathedral Quarter, said the Fleadh had brought everyone together and suggested Belfast could host its own annual weekend event in the future.
