St. Cecilia's Céilí Band.
By Daniel Neely
Hundreds of people from all over the Northeast attended Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann’s 2016 Mid-Atlantic Regional Fleadh, which concluded yesterday in Parsippany, N.J. It was a delightful weekend where music was played, friendships were made or renewed, and a great time was had by all.
For those who mightn’t know, regional fleadhanna (and there are two in the United States, the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest, midwestfleadh.org) are qualifying events for the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, the annual traditional music competition in Ireland in which those who have qualified compete for the title “All-Ireland Champion.” The “Fleadh,” or “All-Ireland” as it’s sometimes called, is a major event that attracts people in the hundreds of thousands – last year in Sligo, for example, an estimated 450,000 attended. This year’s All-Ireland will take place in Ennis, Co. Clare, one of the great music towns, and it promises to be an epic event, not simply because of size of the expected crowd but because of Ennis’s relatively small footprint. It’ll be mad – learn more at its website, www.fleadhcheoil.ie.
And last weekend it was a spot in Ennis that everyone was looking toward. It all got started on Friday night with the Grúpaí Ceoil competition. Grúpaí Ceoil are ensembles that range in size – as few as four and as many as 20 – that allow a full spectrum of instruments and feature creative musical arrangements. In these competitions, listeners hear group mix textures, tempos, and tune types. Dozens and dozens from the various school are involved and the flood of proud young people into the hotel lobby, each wearing the shirts of his or her school, after the competitions have ended is an annual ritual.
Saturday is the day for the individual competitions. The top players will spend months and months preparing and perfecting their “fleadh tunes” and much of their Saturday was spent waiting for their opportunity to impress the judges, so it’s not hard to understand the level of anxiety that was apparent in the morning. Indeed, the hotel’s halls were buzzing with young people on their way either to or from competitions. By the end of the afternoon, some of the young hopefuls were triumphant, some went home disappointed, but everyone could boast of a sense of achievement for having taken part. The commentary – and sometimes, controversy – over the results made for great conversation.
The region’s Hall of Fame banquet took place on Saturday night. Created in 1990, it currently honors 64 individuals from the region who have, in one way or another, carried traditional music’s torch over the years. This year’s class was outstanding and comprised the great pianist Brendan Dolan, the fabulous flute player Linda Hickman, and Mineola Mainstay, fiddler Tom McCarey (RIP), each of whom has – and rightly so – earned the respect of their peers. A hearty congratulations to each new member and their families! Afterward, members of the 2013 All-Ireland Senior Champion Moylurg Ceili Band (who were over to adjudicate some of the competitions and who played all the ceilithe) and past members of the Hall of Fame played for dancing, much to the delight of everyone who attended.
Sessions were something of a constant all weekend, but perhaps none was as epic as the one that happened in the hospitality suite on Saturday night. It seemed every top musician was there and the music was pumping hard. Security did indeed come – several times, in fact – and in the end shut it down due to noise complaints from “civilian” guests, but not before everyone got in a good old tune.
The bulk of the group competitions took place on Sunday. The lobby was again filled with kids paired off, getting their last bit of practice in while their parents agonized over the first half of the Ireland-France soccer match. Duos and trios took place in the morning, while the hotly contested Ceili Band Competition happened in the afternoon. Ceili Band play for dancing and perform to a fairly strict standard. This year four bands – an unheard of number in recent times – competed at the senior level to a large, enthusiastic crowd. The quality of the music was very, very high and the contest fierce, but in the end the New York Céilí Band placed first, the Pearl River Céilí Band second, and WestRock Céilí Band third. It was a great finale to a lovely weekend.
From a participant’s standpoint, the 2016 Mid-Atlantic Fleadh was an outstanding success. Congrats to everyone who competed, their teachers, and especially their parents who do so much to ensure their children are able to take part and carry on the tradition! Best of luck to those who qualified for the All-Ireland! Everyone will be rooting for you – see you over there!
The results of the 2016 Mid-Atlantic Fleadh and the new Hall of Fame member bios will soon be posted to www.nyfleadh.com, the site for all your Mid-Atlantic Fleadh related information.
Daniel Neely writes about traditional music each week in the Irish Echo.
