A scene from one of the many great street attractions at the Fleadh in Ennis, Co. Clare.
By Daniel Neely
The streets were crowded in Ennis all week with smiling people as far as the eye could see, all of them enjoying the music and the craic at the 2017 Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. And what a week it was! Attracting a record 450,000 people, it was quite a successful event and fun was had by all. It was an especially good year for U.S.-based competitors, who seem to have had an unusually strong week of it.
We might start with the fiddlers, who made a particularly impressive showing. In solo fiddle, Jake James came in third in the senior category, Andrew Caden and Hollie Greenwood took first and third respectively in the 15-18 age group, and John Paul Reynolds took third in the 12-15 group. The results for fiddle slow airs were equally impressive if not more so. The great Haley Richardson took first in the 12-15 group, and Jake James and Conor Arkins placed first and second respectively in the seniors, but it was a clean sweep in the 15-18 group, with Patrick Finley, Andrew Caden and Hollie Greenwood taking the top three slots. This was an amazing and perhaps unprecedented showing that all should be impressed with.
The uilleann pipers did quite well, too. Joseph Kelly took third in the 15-18 solo category and Torrin Ryan placed third among the seniors. Ryan also took second in senior slow airs, while Keegan Loesel seized top honors in the 15-18 category.
There was also a very strong showing in the singing competitions, with Jamie Gliroy coming in second in the women's 15-18 English singing competition and Dawn Ní Dhocartaigh taking first in newly composed songs in Irish.
Credit is also due in several other competitions. The free reeds were represented by John Hannagan, who took second in the under 12 button accordion competition and Boston's own Rory Coyne, who grabbed second in the under 12 melodeon. Carmen Pasquerella Came in third in flute slow airs, 12-15. Orla Fogarty came in second in harmonica under 12, while Conor Arkins landed third in the miscellaneous instruments competition. And Christina Dodd took third in under 12 sean-nós dancing.
Finally, there are Jake James and Séagda Coyle who took third place in the very competitive senior duet contest. All these competitors deserve great respect for what they were able to achieve – they did their branches and their teachers incredibly proud!
The week wasn't all about competition, however. There were great lectures, amazing concerts and more that made the week as great as it was. So much to write about there, but to focus on one, I could say the Thursday night concert, which featured Lúnasa, was extremely impressive. The show started with a set from Martin O'Connor, Cathay Hayden, and Seamie O'Dowd, who played some extraordinary music. Then, the crowd was treated to a set from singer Ralph McTell, who delighted the audience with his own iconic originals "From Clare to Here" and "Streets of London." Finally, Lúnasa performed. In addition to their regular lineup of Kevin Crawford, Cillian Vallely, Sean Smyth, Trevor Hutchinson, and Ed Boyd, they invited fellow bandmates Tola Custy, Colin Farrell, and Patrick Doocey to join them, creating kind of an über-band. The show ended with the evening's acts all out onstage making a wall of joyous sound together. The crowd responded in kind – it was a tremendous evening and emblematic of the kind of event that took place all week. (How could you go wrong, though, when the week's concerts featured the likes of Frankie Gavin, Téada and Fisherstreet, Sharon Shannon, Noel Hill, Stockton's Wing, Beoga, and many, many others?!)
The week ended with the senior céilí band competition, which was an utterly amazing spectacle. Fourteen bands performed and competition was ferocious. The Tulla Road played some stunning music, for example, as did the Four Corners, but when all was said and done, it was Cork's great Shandrum Céilí Band that took first and achieved the coveted three-year-in-a-row honor, a well-deserved and hard fought achievement. Sligo’s Knocknashee and Tyrone’s Blackwater Céilí Bands, two outstanding group who competed admirably, tied for second, and no third was awarded.
Although the arguably three best bands on the day won, the manner through which they were identified left a lot to be desired and generated intense controversy both in the venue and on social media. After what felt like an extraordinary amount of deliberation, Shandrum's victory was announced first and indeed, it was only after Shandrum had finished its deserved celebrations (so they could be shuttled out of the building and ensure they would make it to the FleadhTV victory stage in time, it seemed), that the Blackwater and Knocknashee were invited up to be recognized. By then, however, the cat was well out of the bag, much of the audience was gone, and relatively few were left to celebrate the somewhat confusing outcome for second. That the language in the rulebook explicitly prohibiting ties was passed around widely on social media that evening only compounded the confusion and disappointment, and led people to wonder why there wasn't a recall.
Most of the people I spoke with felt Comhaltas let itself down over how the competition's end was handled. Given the time, effort, and passion each group put in to prepare for and reach this, the Fleadh's "crown jewel" competition, it is fair to say that all the bands who competed deserved more, especially since there were many – performer and audience member alike – who believed this year's senior band competition was the best in recent memory. Comhaltas can do better and I trust that they will in the future.
By Monday morning, the Fleadh was quickly drawing to a close and everyone I saw seemed exhausted. The streets had cleared some, and while there were still throngs of people around looking for tunes and crack, the chatter was all about 2018, when the Fleadh is scheduled to take place in Drogheda. In the end the Fleadh continues to be an amazing event. It certainly has something great to offer everyone at every moment of the day. The Fleadh arrangement committee is to be commended for the work they did in setting up and executing such a fine event, and congratulations are due, too, to the town of Ennis for being such fine hosts. Fantastic all around! See you in 2018.
Daniel Neely writes about traditional music each week in the Irish Echo.
