ENNIS FLEADH NUA - Comhaltas Archive

BACKTRIUMPHANT TOURThe 18-strong concert tour group returnedtriumphant from the 16thannual North American Concert Tourhaving won the hearts and applause ofcapacity audiences at 20 concertsthroughout the United States andCanada. The verdict of the most hardenedcritics was unanimous: "undoub­.tedly one of the best concert tours of alltime. " With the aid of the muchappreciated BUDWEISER sponsorshipbacked up by AER LINGUS WATER­FORD GLASS and THE CULTURALRELATIONS COMMITTEE, Comhaltasspared no effort in providing the bestfor this prestigious and long-running culturalevent.The securing of the BUDWEISERsponsorship was a major coup for Comhaltas.It has made it possible for themto add the icing to the cake and a Comhaltas spokesman said that "these arethe type of breaks for which we havebeen waiting a long time. It certainlyaugurs well for the future."The Tour group was an evenly balancedcombination of talent andversatility: there was a freshness to theshow which made it a huge hit withaudiences everywhere.For the artistes, drawn from all overIreland and Britain, it was an experienceof a lifetime taking them to such exoticplaces as New Orleans, San Antonio,Chicago, St. Louis, New York, NewHaven, Kansas City, San Francisco, V!Ulcouver,Calgary, St. Albert, Walth.am,Schenectady, Utica, Detroit, Toronto,. Ottawa and Saskatoon. The grouptravelled over 20,000 miles on theirwhistle-stop tour.North American Co-ordinator BillMcEvoy of New York and formerly ofLaois praised the host committees inthe U.S. and Canada for ajob well done."It went like clockwork", he declared,"and the image of Comhaltas andIreland has received a major boostthrough the success of the Tour. Thegroup were a credit to Ireland - truecultural ambassadors."Already preparations are underwayfor the 1988 Tour and Bill McEvoy willtravel to Dublin for preliminary discussionsat the December meeting of theArdchomhairle.BANK OF IRELANDPresentsA glil11pseof the realIrelandCONCERTTOUROFBRITAIN198813-27 February, 1988Blackbum, Stevenage,Harringay, st. Albans, EastLondon, Port Talbot,Cheltenham, Northampton,Leicester, Sheffield, Leeds,Newcastle, Motherwell,Glasgow and Manchester.Travel courtesy ofB & I LINES6