Plaque marking 70th anniversary of Athlone Fleadh unveiled

A new plaque commemorating the 70th anniversary of the hosting of the Fleadh Ceoil in Athlone was officially unveiled on Sean Costello Street on Culture Night.

The Fleadh was held Athlone in 1953 in St Mary's Hall and featured featured legendary artists including Mrs Crotty, Leo Rowsome and Willie Reynolds.

The unveiling of the plaque by Comhaltas Athlone and Feile na Sionainne commenced just after 6pm on Friday, September 20, with some music by a group of local musicians before Feile Na Sionainne Chair Jim Mulkerrins addressed those gathered for the event.

Jim said it was “fitting that, on this Culture Night of 2024, we take this opportunity to recognise and celebrate our own heritage and culture and to acknowledge those who played important roles in building it and keeping it alive over so many years”.

Jim said when the Fleadh took place in Athlone, it was only the third iteration of the event. which had first been held in Mullingar in 1951, followed by Monaghan in 1952.

Cumann Ceoltoiri Eireann, later to become known as Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, which is the primary Irish organisation dedicated to the promotion of the music, song, dance and the language of Ireland, was also founded in 1951.

“Nowadays not many people recognise that the rejuvenation of Irish musical heritage started here in the midlands, with that first Fleadh in Mullingar and the formation of CCÉ in Mullingar around the same time,” Jim added.

The first Athlone CCE branch was founded the same year, with its committee including people such as Josh Broderick, Eamonn Furey, Kieran Kelly, Willie Reynolds, Peter Feeney, Frank Dolphin, Seamus McDonagh, Johnny Malynn, T. Lennon, Mary Somers, Carmel Somers, Eileen Lennon, M. Dolan and Sean Temple.

Jim said “Many of those names have lived on over the intervening 70 years through many generations of their families performing and teaching and keeping alive music song and dance traditions of Athlone.”

Prior to 1951, the Sean Costello branch of the Gaelic League had hosted ceilis and dancing classes, but the new CCÉ branch gave added impetus to this.

Athlone Branch members who achieved accolades at the Fleadh across the years have included Kieran Kelly, Paul Brock and Niamh Brett on the button accordion, Ellen Costello and Mary Gunning on the piano accordion, Austin Berry and Ruairdhi O Leochain on the mouth organ, and Aileen O’Connor, Marty Moore and Cathy Gunning for singing.

Jim added that “under the umbrella of CCE, we inaugurated Feile Na Sionainne, a festival to celebrate the rich history, heritage and culture of Athlone”, which brought an influx of visitors to the town.

As part of his address, Jim gave special thanks to all the Athlone branches performers, as well the CCE and Feile committees “for their dedication, wisdom, diligence and hard work, over many long winter evenings spent planning, coordinating, lobbying, and achieving”.

He concluded by saying that they expect the Fleadh to return to Athlone in the near future.