Fleadh Committee Profile: Linda Price

As part of our on-going coverage in the lead-up to this year's Fleadh, we are profiling members of the Fleadh executive committee who have dedicated a lot of their time over the past few years to the event.

What is your role on the executive committee?

An Clár chairperson

Why did you sign up for the committee?

Joe Connaire and I have been friends since our early teens, having started playing music together with Castletown Geoghegan CCÉ back in the late eighties. Joe encouraged me to get involved with Ballynacargy CCÉ in 2017, resulting in me being elected secretary of the branch. In January 2020, I had just come out of a difficult time in my life and Joe suggested I join the Fleadh executive committee for 2020 to give him a hand. He promised I wouldn't have too much to do. Needless to say my role ended up being a lot more than I ever imagined and I've enjoyed every minute of it. As well as producing An Clár and the Information Leaflet, I was involved in assisting with numerous other areas - too many to mention. My whole life for the last 3-4 years has been Fleadh, Fleadh, Fleadh and I couldn't have done any of it without the help of my mother - Anne Price and my two sisters Michelle Connolly and Anne Marie Wallace. They supported me 100% and only for them I could never have given the commitment I did to Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann last year and now again in 2023.

What was your stand out moment of the 2022 Fleadh?

There are a few moments that really stood out for me from Fleadh 2022. The first was the official opening on the Gig Rig. My eldest child, Charlie, was chosen to be a fáiltóirí and to see him up there on the stage presenting president Higgins and his wife Sabina with their gifts, that day will stay with me forever. A very proud mammy for sure. My two daughters Lucy (11) and Ciara (10) were placed 3rd in the Under 12 Ladies Set Dancing competition for Ballynacargy CCÉ on the Friday. They danced later that evening on the Gig Rig with Charlie playing the banjo for them, as part of the group from Ballynacargy CCÉ led by Joe Connaire. My two girls were part of the first group ever from the branch to win a medal at any All-Ireland Fleadh. l'll be forever grateful to their dedicated dance teachers Niamh Penrose and Katie Baird for this. Lucy and Ciara and their older brother Charlie have been attending the All Ireland Set Dancing Competitions every year since they were toddlers and to see them win medals at home in Mullingar meant more to me than anyone could ever imagine. Lastly, another moment I will cherish forever, was after the closing ceremony at about 11.30pm on the Sunday night on the Gig Rig. Myself and Colette Glynn, secretary on the FEC, took a moment to stand and look out at the crowd gathered in front of us. We just stood there in awe at the sheer volume of people and I said to Colette 'We did this'. There were plenty of tears shed that night of pure joy, relief and pride of what we had achieved as a core group of 15 or so people led by Joe Connaire. It was a surreal moment and a memory I will cherish forever.

What are you most looking forward to for Fleadh 2023?

I'm looking forward to enjoying it. No one could comprehend how hard the core committee worked during that whole week to achieve the legacy that was Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2022. No one knows the hours that were spent in the days, weeks and months coming up to it. This year I'm looking forward to not worrying about the little things and taking in what we have achieved as an extremely dedicated and committed team of volunteers. I just want to sit back and watch it all unfold again, only bigger and better again this year.

What Legacy would you like to see Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann Mullingar 2022/23 leave on the town?

I would love for Westmeath Comhaltas to develop to a point where Irish music and dance is taught in every parish hall in the county. I think all young children should grow up with the opportunity to experience what my children and I have in their lives. Charlie plays banjo and mandolin, Lucy plays whistle and guitar and Ciara is still deciding between her concertina and accordion, playing both when the humour takes her. All three have danced in Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann and have made many lifelong friends along the way. That's what it's all about, the friendships, the craic agus ceoil. My father, Charlie Price, passed away tragically in 1987 and all he wanted for me and my sisters was to learn traditional Irish music and to experience the joy it brings to all. My mother succeeded in giving that gift to us as children and in turn I have given it to my three.  All of my nieces and nephews are members of Ballynacargy CCÉ, the fifth largest branch of Comhaltas in the world and they all either play music or dance with the branch. That to me is a legacy in itself.