The largest crowd ever thronged the streets of Ennis for Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2017.
Over 450,000 people attended over nine days of the largest traditional Irish music festival in the world. Numbers peaked at 100,000 on Saturday when crowds exceeded anything ever experienced in the town.
All operational plans including a detailed Pedestrian Management plan operated effectively throughout the entire event.
Nine hundred students participated in masterclasses at Scoil Éigse. Concert audiences broke all records, Fleadh TV broadcast nine hours of exhilarating TV, while Legacy, Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Éireann’s flagship orchestral performance, premiered to the packed 2,000 seater Shannon Aerodome.
In tribute to Ennis, Fleadh goers were enthusiastic in their appreciation of the scale and professionalism of the event organisation.
Businesses in the hospitality and retail sectors indicated a significant increase in footfall and the success of the Fleadh can also be attributed to the efficient and friendly welcome extended by their teams.
“We hope that Ennis, Clare and the Fleadh will live on in the memories of the 450,000 people who attended this year’s Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann or watched it on FleadhTV,’ said a delighted chairman of the Fleadh Executive Committee, Frank Whelan.
“We hope that people will return again and again to our town and county for the welcome, the music and the hospitality,” he said.
The Fleadh Chairman wished the organising committee in Drogheda every success for the hosting of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in 2018 at the handing over of the specially designed Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann flag, marking the change of venue for next year.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.