ENNIS FLEADH NUA - Comhaltas Archive

130,000 ENJOY THE"GREATEST FLEADH OFALL TIME""Take three days of sunshine, starry nights, an organisation with clockworkprecision, some of the finest traditional music in the country and 130,000people to listen to it and you have the makings of a perfect All-Ireland Fleadh.That's precisely what Listowel had last weekend. And as the last of the musiclovers reluctantly gathered · themselves together to leave the town on Mondayand Tuesday the town settled down to recover from what is being regarded as itsbest Fleadh Cheoil ever. "This was the verdict of Derek encouragell musicians to remain playingCunningham in "Kerryman" following on the streets all night.. .... A huge con- -what Comhaltas founder Paddy .M9-':, tmgent from the U.S ., the ' ContinentElvaney described as "the greatest .and .Britain made the pilgrimage to Lis-Fleadh of all time."towel and not without good reason.The media were unanimous in their Apart from the sheer musical delight of,agreement as to the success of the 1987 the occasion, last year two senior com-Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann which was petitions, the accordeon and fiddlebeing held in Listowel for the third year were won by New York basedin a row and the tenth occasion since its musicians ........ As usual there was a largeinception of the Fleadh. contingent from the North .... .. TheSean McConnell of the " Irish Times" fleadh went off like a dream. It wouldwrote. "The organisers had expected100,000 people but that figure shot uphourly with the rising temperatures, asmake one proud to be native and itsmost certainly good fertile earth ......"Noel Smith of the " Irish Independent"an estimated 130,000 people crowdedwrote: "The Fleadh is now biginto the multi-steepled north Kerry business generating as much as £Smtown for the weekend ...... Sessions over North Kerry. The biggest crowdsstarted everywhere and there was littlesleep for the residents or indeed the visitors,for 10 years revelled to the music of thefiddle and the bodhnin."as the beautiful weather " Irish Press" reporter BrianMcLaughlin pointed out that 2,000 participantsvied for All-Ireland honoursin 129 different competitions and therewasn't a bed to be had within a tenmileradius of Listowel.Donal Hickey of the "Cork Examiner"reported that "While competitionsconstituted the main business of theFleadh, impromptu sessions, often involvingtotal strangers, gave tremendousvitality to the affair. Northern accentscould be heard all round Listowel at theweekend and up to 10 ,000 are thoughtto have travelled southwards for theoccasion."The Listowel Fleadh Committee,under the leadership of Michael Dowlinghave proved once again their expertisein the organising of this major event.Listowel has won for itself an undisputedplace of pride and gratitude in thehearts of all lovers of Irish traditionalmusic. The name of Listowel will beuttered with reverence wherever in theworld the supporters of the nativeculture of Ireland foregather.JOHN BOWE and TIle TIlatch OWi Bandreceive their trophy from MICHEAL bLOCHLAINN , Uach(adn cd:.6