{"id":629001,"date":"2026-08-09T18:58:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T18:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/629001\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T18:58:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T18:58:23","slug":"this-is-so-joyful-after-welcoming-a-million-visitors-belfast-fleadh-comes-to-an-end-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/629001\/","title":{"rendered":"‘This is so joyful’: After welcoming a million visitors, Belfast Fleadh comes to an end today"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE FIRST FLEADH Cheoil na h\u00c9ireann to take place in Belfast has brought joy to a city that was once \u201cso dark\u201d, a volunteer has said.<\/p>\n

Davy Taylor described a vibrancy with street performances across the city centre, and said some of the older visitors remarked on the difference from the Belfast of former years that experienced a decades-long conflict.<\/p>\n

\"belfast-uk-7th-aug-2026-fleadh-cheoil-na-heireann-day-6-several-hundred-people-packed-into-the-grounds-of-belfast-city-hall-attend-an-open-air-ceili-a-traditional-social-gathering-featuring-gaeli\"
\n People on Commerical Court in Belfast for the Fleadh Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n

Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n

He was part of an army of volunteers who gave up hours of their time to help guide more than a million visitors from across the world.<\/p>\n

The 1,300 volunteers ranged from teenagers to pensioners dressed in distinctive yellow hats and T-shirts, offering brochures and a welcoming smile to tourists.<\/p>\n

Today will see the conclusion of All-Ireland competitions with 5,000 musicians and dancers from 22 countries taking part in 180 categories.<\/p>\n

They will end with the Senior C\u00e9il\u00ed Bands competition at the Belfast Waterfront Hall at 5.30pm. The winning senior C\u00e9il\u00ed band will take to the Gig Rig for a finale performance.<\/p>\n

Street performances across the city centre and Fleadh Fringe events on the outskirts will continue through the final day.<\/p>\n

\"performers-at-fleadh-cheoil-na-heireann-2026-in-belfast-a-week-of-song-dance-and-culture-as-part-of-the-worlds-largest-celebration-of-traditional-irish-music-picture-date-saturday-august-8-2026\"
\n Performers at Fleadh Cheoil na h\u00c9ireann 2026 Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n

Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n

The week-long event has also featured bands from the Loyalist and Unionist traditions in Northern Ireland as well as minority ethnic communities.<\/p>\n

President Catherine Connolly, Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin, First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly have been among the hundreds of thousands of attendees.\n<\/p>\n

\u2018Next year will be even bigger\u2019<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, next year\u2019s Fleadh will be an \u201ceven bigger success\u201d when it returns to Belfast, according to Northern Ireland secretary Chris Bryant.<\/p>\n

This morning, Bryant congratulated the Fleadh organisers in a message on the social media network X.<\/p>\n

\"performers-at-fleadh-cheoil-na-heireann-2026-in-belfast-a-week-of-song-dance-and-culture-as-part-of-the-worlds-largest-celebration-of-traditional-irish-music-picture-date-saturday-august-8-2026\"
\n Performers at Fleadh Cheoil na h\u00c9ireann 2026 in Belfast Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n

Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n

\u201cMany congratulations to everyone involved in the Fleadh\u2019s first showing in Belfast which has defied expectations showcasing an amazingly talented and welcoming city,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cI predict next year will be an even bigger success once those who missed out this year book!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018This is so joyful\u2019<\/p>\n

Fleadh volunteer Davy Taylor remarked: \u201cThe joy of all the street performances and the big stage, it would bring a tear to your eye, all the lovely wee children playing their music and the vibrancy in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the older people have been telling me they remember Belfast when it was so dark, and this is so joyful.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of people from the Republic, and a whole cruise ship emptied out yesterday with Australians and Americans. It was lovely to see us showing our culture to people who have come to our country from other cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"davy
\n Davy Taylor, one of 1,300 volunteers at the Fleadh in Belfast, described the experience as overwhelming PA<\/p>\n

PA\n<\/p>\n

Mairead Mulligan, from Belfast, was on her fourth shift, and said the experience had surpassed all her expectations, adding she intended to return when the Fleadh comes back to Belfast next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt surpassed all my expectations. I\u2019ve really enjoyed it and the weather has made it as well. We\u2019re lucky we haven\u2019t been rained on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"belfast-uk-7th-aug-2026-fleadh-cheoil-na-heireann-day-6-several-hundred-people-packed-into-the-grounds-of-belfast-city-hall-attend-an-open-air-ceili-a-traditional-social-gathering-featuring-gaeli\"
\n Performers at this year’s Fleadh in Belfast Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n

Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cEveryone is smiling and very appreciative of everything we\u2019re doing as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had lots of people from Australia, South Africa and America, and of course locals as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cLots of people came for the Fleadh and others just happened to come upon it, like those from the cruise ships were lucky enough to arrive when the Fleadh was on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a great opportunity, and absolutely I\u2019ll be back next year \u2013 I can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"mairead-mulligan-one-of-1300-people-who-volunteered-during-the-fleadh-cheoil-na-heireann-2026-in-belfast-a-week-of-song-dance-and-culture-as-part-of-the-worlds-largest-celebration-of-traditional\"
\n Mairead Mulligan, one of 1,300 people who volunteered during Fleadh Cheoil na h\u00c9ireann 2026 in Belfast Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n

Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n

Kevin McVeigh from Belfast said he loved being part of something so big that could leave a positive legacy for the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew there was some expectation that this might exceed (the last Fleadh) in Wexford but I think it has exceeded everyone\u2019s expectations. I don\u2019t think I have ever seen the city centre as busy as this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spoken to a lot of Irish obviously, but also a lot from England, Scotland, Europeans, and we had a bunch of Argentinian tourists, to who we were asked to explain what the Fleadh was about.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people have been taken by surprise at how big it is, and how professional it is, and I\u2019m really impressed at the organisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have also commented about how accessible Belfast is because we have pedestrianised everything. Hopefully people might talk about keeping that in part in the next few years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"left-to-right-erin-donnelly-ceili-donnelly-beth-masterson-caragh-donnelly-from-ards-comhaltas-performing-in-donegall-place-in-belfast-as-fleadh-cheoil-na-heireann-2026-has-officially-opened-in\"
\n (left to right) Erin Donnelly, C\u00e9il\u00ed Donnelly, Beth Masterson, Caragh Donnelly from Ards Comhaltas performing in Donegall Place in Belfast Alamy<\/p>\n

Alamy\n<\/p>\n

Kieran O\u2019Neill from Belfast said all the reaction from visitors had been very positive, with his fifth shift on Saturday contributing to 20 hours volunteering.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been to many a Fleadh, and I didn\u2019t think it would be as successful. I thought maybe Belfast was too big for it, and too spread out, but it\u2019s been very, very successful.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE FIRST FLEADH Cheoil na h\u00c9ireann to take place in Belfast has brought joy to a city that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[75],"tags":[663,262639,18,117,260617,4248,19,17],"class_list":["post-629001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-belfast","tag-belfast-fleadh","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-fleadh","tag-fleadh-cheoil-na-heireann","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117067088376231888","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}