This article is from page 26 of the 2008-04-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 26 JPG
FOR the first time in the event’s his- tory, this year’s Fleadh Nua will fea- ture performances from an Ulster/ Scots Pipe band.
A pipe and flute band in the Ulster Scots tradition, the Hounds of Ulster are one of the provinces most high profile marching bands.
Announcing details of the festival programme at last week’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Rory Casey, of the Fleadh Nua committee, explained the festival is opening up to embrace the new cultural landscape.
He said, “We have to be careful
to address other cultures. There is a whole different cultural landscape out there than there was in Ennis in 1973. We talk a lot about the eco- nomic benefits of the Good Friday agreement but perhaps its time to reap the cultural benefits. If we are serious about living on this island to- gether, we have to develop relation- ships like this”.
The Hounds of Ulster, Mr Casey said, would not be marching in the annual Fleadh Nua parade.
The nine-day festival takes place in venues throughout Ennis from May 18-26.
Other highlights include a tribute
to acclaimed musician and teacher Frank Custy, a series of concerts in glor and a wide and varied pro- gramme of street performances and music workshops.
Mr Casey said the Fleadh Nua had survived because of the close links formed between the organising com- mittee, Ennis Town Council, local arts and cultural groups, Shannon Development and venues like the County Museum, Cois na hAbhna and Glor.
However, Mr Casey said he was disappointed with the response of the business community to last year’s BATE
“We have a close relationship with Ennis Chamber. But it was very dis- appointing, we sent out 300 letters and we only got one response. It is an Ennis festival and we do bring ben- efit to the town”.
Mr Casey explained that with 57 festivals taking place in Clare this year, the Fleadh Nua faced a chal- lenging, competitive market place.
Independent councillor Frankie Neylon said the festival should adopt a country each year to maximise the benefits of tourism.
Fine Gael councilor Johnny Flynn urged the committee to embrace new concepts like pod casting.