Ballina Fleadh campaigner calls on Mayo County Council to send delegation to Wexford Fleadh

A well-known Mayo musician who is campaigning for Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann to come to Ballina has called on Mayo County Council to send a delegation on a fact-finding mission to the All-Ireland Fleadh in Wexford.

Ballina native Eamonn Walsh has said that the All-Ireland Fleadh will be ‘doomed’ without the support of Mayo County Council. 

Mr Walsh, who is PRO of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann’s Ballina branch, said that the local Comhaltas branch ‘cannot be expected to raise the €1.9 million required to stage the mammoth event’. 

The North Mayo town previously hosted the Fleadh in 1997 and 1998. An estimated 100,000 people visited on each occasion, generating an estimated £7 million for the Mayo economy each year. 

The 2023 All-Ireland Fleadh in Mullingar attracted 600,000 people and generated in the region of €120 million to the local economy over the two years. It is due to be staged in Wexford from August 4-12. 

Based on Fáilte Ireland data, the All-Ireland Fleadh, generates €60 million each year to the local economy and attracts 600,000 visitors over eight days with 30 percent coming from overseas.

“It is imperative that Mayo County Council see at first hand the benefits the mammoth event brings to the whole county,” said Mr Walsh. 

The current Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, Cllr John O’Hara, has advocated for the Fleadh to be staged in Ballina, as have other local elected representatives. 

A meeting of various stakeholders, including the chairmen of the Sligo and Mullingar All-Ireland Fleadhs, attended a meeting in Ballina in February which discussed the possibility of staging the Fleadh in the town. 

Last year, the Director General of Comhaltas Ceóltoiri Éireann Dr Labhrás O’Murchú visited Ballina and said that the town ‘ticks all the boxes for an All-Ireland Fleadh’.

Sixteen indoor venues and 20 outdoor locations have been identified as potential venues to host 182 competitions and over 6,000 competitors at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.

These include St Muredach’s Cathedral, Ballina Manor Hotel, Scoil Padraig, Old Convent Hall, Ballina Stephenites GAA Club, Culleens NS and the Twin Trees Hotel ballroom.

Mr Walsh is also calling on all Mayo business people at home and abroad to back the Fleadh and provide sponsorship.

Local employer Hollister has already pledged support to the event.

“The whole of County Mayo would benefit from an All-Ireland Fleadh and we need the whole county behind this mammoth event,” he said.