R - Comhaltas Archive

Che 200,000Millennium Fleadh Cheoil!2he 1999 Fleadh Cheoil nahEireann in Enniscorthy, Co.Wexford, may have established arecord as the largest Fleadh Cheoil ofall time. Estimates have put theattendance in the region of 200,000exceeding even the great Fleadh '98 inBallina, Co. Mayo.However, all are agreed thatEnniscorthy hosted one of the greatestand most enjoyable Fleadhanna in thehistory of the festival. Th is is attributedto a number of factors: excellentorganistation, warm hearted people,support for the traditional arts, a senseof history and, of course, fine weather.Over 10,000 performers provided thegreatest 'traditional show on earth' asone Fleadhgoer termed the exciting andcolourful extravaganza which wasFleadh '99 in the historic town ofEnniscorthy. It had something foreveryone - music, song, dance,pageantry, camaraderie. Here was acelebration of Irish men perhaps neverbefore experienced.The young people did us proud. Theywere there in their tens of thousandsamodel of decorum, participating tothe fullest and extending courtesy andco-operation to all.Languages from all the world could beheard in this huge gathering and nonemore so than the Irish Language whichresulted from the conduciveatmosphere of this traditional event.The 'beagan', the 'cupla focal ', the'seanfhocal' were all broughtenthusiastically and effectively into use.The organising committee were calm,cool and collected but ever soinnovative and professional. Thiscoupled with a generous input from theUrban Council and County Council; asupportive and encouraging clergy; acomplementary Garda Siochana; openhearts and open doors gave us, as theParish Newsletter put it, ' ... someinkling of what we can achieve together.It shows us that little, if anything, isbeyond our reach. Such a lesson is agood one, as we stand on the verge ofthe year 2000, a year when hopefullywe will fully grasp all of theopportunities we are offered to becomeever closer as a community of God'sPeople. ',Streets of MusicAccording to organising commiteeCathaoirleach Niall Wall the group isMaestro 06 I dna e Barra at the Fleadh'delightedat the enjoyment and happinessgenerated, and relieved that everythinghad gone so smoothly'.The 'Enniscorthy Echo' puts it this way- If some people might feel that, ofcourse, the eulogising of the town andits people might not be unexpected, itshould be pointed out that the universalopinion of visitors was that Enniscorthyand its people were 's imply the best'when it came to hosting the event.Those involved in organising Fleadh50 ______________________________ ~------------~------