A weekend celebration of Irish culture at the Scottish Fleadh

THE recent Scottish Fleadh hosted across the weekend of April 26 and 27 proved to be the biggest ever in what was a weekend celebration of Irish culture.

It had been anticipated that the fleadh would be sizeable given the upwards trajectory in previous years and the high numbers of Under-18 entries, which had been posted in advance of the fleadh. Large numbers of senior entries—particularly from the newest two branches in Scotland, Ayr and Edinburgh—tipped the scales meaning that for the first time ever, more than 400 entries were lodged.

As hosts of this year’s fleadh, St James the Great CCÉ sought permission from the Scottish region to host the fleadh over a weekend rather than the conventional one-day event in response to increasing numbers in recent years and given the eventual unprecedented turnout, it would seem that their foresight was well placed.

There were several particular highlights across the weekend with 24 Under-12 duets

competing in the duet competition. I personally would have struggled to be the adjudicator officiating due to the number of musicians involved and the high standard on display, separating the field would have been no mean feat.

The fleadh also celebrated several individuals achieving their Fainne Airgid passes having sat exams in Irish language over the fleadh weekend. These exams were organised by Conradh na Gaeilge in conjunction with Comhaltas and thanks must go to Evin Downey for his help in arranging these.

The Fainne Awards were presented by Consul General of Ireland to Scotland, Jerry O’Donovan, and Vice-Consul-General Andrea Wickham-Moriarty and we were delighted to welcome them to the fleadh and forever grateful of the wonderful support of the

consulate and the Irish Government as a whole who continue to provide much needed financial support to the fleadh through the Emigrant Support Programme.

The Scottish Fleadh is the first round on the path to the coveted All-Ireland, which takes place this year in Wexford in August. Of those who competed at this year’s Scottish Fleadh, a record 212 have qualified to represent Scotland at the All-Britain in Coventry this June. This number is up from 190 in the previous year and shows the continued spread of entrants across a number of disciplines.

It is particularly pleasing to see qualifiers across almost all age groups in the Uilleann Pipes—an instrument native to Ireland and one which has often been lacking in numbers due to the complexity of the instrument, their high cost and also lack of availability. Much of the credit for this upsurge goes to Danny McCafferty—himself a member of the All-Ireland winning St Roch’s Marching Band teaching the pipes to younger musicians.

Another mention must go to young Niall Godfrey from the newly formed Edinburgh branch of Comhaltas who goes on record as the branch’s first ever competition participant and qualifier coming first in the Under-12 Men’s singing in the English language category after a fantastic performance.

Without question the largest cheer of the fleadh went to the Senior Inbhir Air Grupai Cheoil representing Ayr CCÉ for the first time. In a toughly contested competition featuring four fantastic performances, the group from Ayr did enough to come third and, more importantly, qualify for the British Championships in Coventry. The significance of this was not lost on the hundreds in attendance and the roar that greeted their performances was bettered by the one greeting this fantastic result.

In the week following on from the fleadh we were all shocked to learn the news of Grupai leader and branch founder Fabian Greenan’s tragic passing. This has been a terribly difficult time for all within the traditional music world and our thoughts and wishes go to Fabian’s family and all at Ayr CCÉ. I’m sure everyone will be wishing the group well at the All-Britain as they continue to fulfil Fabian’s legacy in representing the branch going forward.

Paddy Callaghan is the Operations Manager of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann in Britain. You can follow him on Twitter: @paddy_box and Instagram: paddy_box and contact him via e-mail at: paddy@comhaltas.co.uk