There'll be a fantastic mixture of music, drama, discussion and family events taking place right across the Gaeltacht Quarter as part of Fleadh Feirste 2019.
Join us for the official opening of Fleadh Feirste 2019 where we will kick off the celebrations of 10 years of the fleadh with Lord Mayor John Finucane, tasty finger foods wine, fantastic music and more. The launch will be followed by a gig with St Mary’s University College Society of Traditional Music. There will also be a live broadcast from Raidió Fáilte at the launch.
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich organises Fleadh Feirste in partnership with other organisations across the Gaeltacht Quarter to put together a lively programme of various events for everyone in the community.
There are two celebrations as part of the fleadh this year. It is 10 years since Fleadh Feirste began for the first time and this year also celebrates 50 years since the establishment of the Shaw’s Road Gaeltacht, the seed of the revival in the west of the city.
Among the events that will take place as part of the fleadh, there will be a concert with Gráinne Holland in Áras Uí Chonghaile, a coffee tasting morning in the Lon Dubh café in Raidió fáilte, a live broadcast recording of the news at one on Raidió na Gaeltachta as the community looks towards another election and a Christmas family fun day for everyone.
Ciaran Mac Giolla Bhéin, Cultúrlann Director, said:
“There is no doubt that the people of the Shaw’s Road had a massive influence on the Irish language community in the city of Belfast, not only in the sixties and seventies, but the results of their work can still be seen, As we’re commemorating the fifty years that have passed since then, we celebrate those trailblazers who laid the way for the work that we are doing today.”
Bronagh Fusco, Community Arts Officer in the Cultúrlann, said:
“We’re delighted to present this programme full of variety to the community. There is a mixture of music, drama, family and literature events inside and this programme showcases the talents of people here in west Belfast. This fleadh gives people a chance to come together in the Christmas spirit to celebrate, to enjoy the events and to think about the considerable progress that the Irish language community in Belfast has made over the past fifty years.”