Tag Archives: Fleadh Nua

ORGANISERS of this year’s Fleadh Nua say they are “making up for lost time” with a packed schedule of events planned for when the festival returns to Ennis this weekend. After a two-year break Fleadh Nua will be back on the streets of the county capital for a week of traditional music, song, and dance culminating in three headline concerts at glór over the June Bank holiday weekend. An annual event in Ennis for more than four decades, the Fleadh went online for the last two years due to Covid-19 to ensure the continuity of the event. Now, however, with all restrictions lifted, the ‘Fleadh down in Ennis’ is back, bigger and better than ever, as chairman of the organising committee Frank Whelan explains. “With this year’s Fleadh Nua, we’re making up for lost time, so we have a packed programme of events with everything from concerts, céilithe, singing and storytelling to sessions, film, CD launches and workshops in music, …

ORGANISERS of the Fleadh Nua festival in Ennis were “devastated” over the closure of the Rowan Tree hostel, a meeting has been told. Calls were made at an Ennis Municipal District meeting for action to be taken to secure tenants for empty business premises in the town. The hostel on Harmony Row is just one of a number of high profile businesses which have closed in recent years in the county capital, with Councillor Pat Daly insisting, “Ennis can’t afford to lose business.” Speaking at a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District the councillor urged the local authority to co-ordinate with Ennis Chamber and the owners of properties with a view to securing new tenants. Alongside the Rowan Tree which closed in October, he recalled the other locations which have shut their doors, Food Haven, O’Brien’s deli and Twomey-Walsh. Councillor Daly recalled how in a recent conversation with organisers of Fleadh Nua they outlined the closure of the Rowan Tree …

FOR the second year running Fleadh Nua will not be taking place in Ennis due to Covid 19 restrictions, organisers have confirmed. But Fleadh Nua chairman Frank Whelan is looking forward to the return of the festival in 2022, when he promises it will be bigger and better than ever. In the meantime, he hopes that memories of the great Fleadhannas down through the years will sustain the many lovers of traditional music, song and dance for whom the Fleadh Nua has become a much anticipated annual event. “Those of us who are old enough remember the ‘70s and ‘80s when the Fair Green became a tent village for the last week in May,” said Frank. “Then there were the huge parades and colorful floats winding their way through the narrow streets of the town, with set dancers batterin’ away on the back of a moving truck, and no one ever fell off! But sadly Health and Safety regulations did …

THIS year’s Fleadh Nua has struck a right note with plans to move online while also raising vital funds for charity. Like many other events around the county, this year’s Fleadh Nua in Ennis has been cancelled as a result of Covid-19. However in a bid not to disappoint the thousands of regular Fleadh goers from around the country and overseas, organisers of are putting together an online programme of traditional music, song and dance and seeking to raise much needed funds for Trocaire in the process. “When people heard that this year’s Fleadh wouldn’t be going ahead we received many messages from those who attend the event every year saying how sad they were not to be able to come to Ennis for Fleadh Nua 2020, especially since this year’s event had been scheduled for the June Bank Holiday weekend,” said Frank Whelan, Cathaoirleach of Fleadh Nua. To ensure fans of the festival will not miss out on the …

CLARE Marts in Ennis is set to be turned into a car park – but not permanently. The Lions Club of Ennis has secured the Quin Road site to provide parking on this Sunday and Sunday, June 17, to cater for the massive crowds expected to turn out for both the Munster Hurling Championship round robin games in Cusack Park, and the Fleadh Nua. As well as providing 500 parking spaces for Clare’s hurling and traditional music fans, the venture will also raise funds for local charities. On Sunday, Clare will take on Waterford, while on June 17 the home team will take on the Shannonsiders for a fixture that traditionally packs out the county grounds. James O’Loughlin, of the Lions Club of Ennis, explains that the money raised from the parking will go towards the club’s ongoing charitable work locally, such as the annual old folks’ holiday and Christmas food appeal. “The proceeds from the parking will all go …

WHEN accepting the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 1995, after Clare had ended an 81-year wait for the All-Ireland senior title, Anthony Daly proclaimed that Clare people loved their traditional music, as well as their hurling. That passion will be clear for all to see this weekend, as the county supports its hurling and football teams and also find the time to attend the many events in the Fleadh Nua in Ennis. As the respective management teams finalise their plans for the Munster quarter-finals, there are injury concerns in both camps and a number of players face late fitness tests before a final decision is made. With Brendan Bugler (suspended), Colm Galvin (in the US) and Conor McGrath (injured) already ruled out, hurling followers are keeping their fingers crossed that Conor Ryan and Cian Dillon will be fit. Dillon has been out of action for the past number of weeks but did play for a period in a practice game at …

They say life begins at 40. The ruby anniversary of Fleadh Nua in Ennis is certainly in full swing, with a host of events taking place throughout the county capital this week, attracting visitors from around the country and further afield. And providing a much welcome boost to the local economy. It is fair to say that in deciding to move the fledgling Fleadh Nua out of Dublin and to bring it west of the Shannon, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí was taking a risk. But, with the benefit of 40 years of hindsight, it was an inspired move, as the festival has thrived in the heartland of traditional music that is County Clare. Writing in Treoir in 1974, Gerard O’Grady observed, “Many had considered that a Fleadh Nua outside Dublin would be a flop. It was the very opposite and it can now take its place in the world of traditional festivals. As a country traditional festival, and with the very high …

THE very first Fleadh Nua in Ennis was held in 1974 and, as the festival prepares to celebrate its 40th milestone, one family recalls those first days, having uncovered a set of photographs documenting its rich heritage. In 1961, the prominent public house on O’Connell Street, now known as Brogan’s, was owned by the Hogan family. Brian Hogan and his wife, Joan, ran the business there up until November 1976. It was then, as it is now, renowned for its traditional music and entertainment and, when the Fleadh Nua began in the town, it was one of the moments they recall with great fondness. The Hogans’ son, Senan, who lives in Kildysart, was given a stack of old photographs by his aunt, Kitty Heffernan from County Waterford, who used to travel to Ennis to help out the Hogan family during this busy festival period. It is believed that these photographs date to between the first Fleadh Nua or, at the …