Intorduction
The biggest cultural event ever to have been staged in Belfast opened its doors to the public for its first time here on Saturday 1 August 2026. A week-long festival of Irish music that took 9 days to complete. A unique event. And one that I'd never attended before anywhere .
With scores of gigs taking place across the city, the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (translated it means Festival of Ireland's Music) has presented a welcoming and enthusiastic image of Belfast to visitors and locals alike. To use an organic metaphor, Belfast City Council with assistance from countless volunteers pulled out all of the musical and other stops to present the best show possible.
The aim of this piece is to reflect on a small sample of the extensive range on offer.
Sat 1 Aug Heart of the City
A "special evening of music song and words" took place on the eve of the series in a "sold-out" Ulster Hall. Under the title "Croí na Cathrach" (meaning heart of the city), hosted by the Lord Mayor Róis-Máire Donnelly, curated by composer Neil Martin and presented by broadcaster Lynette Fay, the line-up included celebrity names with
- poetry and literature readings from actors Stephen Rea and Ciarán Hinds;
- and musical performances
by the vocalist Roisín Chambers,
by Séanna Davey (playing the introductory music of 2026 Fleadh on an elaborate harp),
and not least by Hothouse Flowers epic lead singer, Liam Ó'Maonlaí.
All of these performers came together as one with an assembled team of in-house and visiting musicians in the grandest imaginable finalé to lift the roof off the Ulster Hall. It featured the best rendition of a personal favourite song, "The Minstrel Boy," that I've ever heard. This was not least because of its accompaniment by the Hall's deeply resonant tones on the magnificent Mulholland Organ.
Together the impact was an opening example of collaboration featuring an impressive array of brass, pipers, drums, fiddles and harps. Its scale and volume guaranteed a standing ovation and a rousing start to the 2026 Fleadh Cheoil. What a rambustious introductory statement.
Benefits of the Fleadh
The opening Croí na Cathrach concert's significant intent related to what policy-makers sometimes refer to as "social inclusion." This phrase became a repeated theme in subsequent Fleadh events. As a result, the community benefits to be delivered by the 2026 Fleadh could be substantial.
They include the first appearance of the Fleadh to Belfast, celebrating Irish traditional music here on the organisation's 75th anniversary (which is in turn somewhat reminiscent of the Mayo football team's recent similar wait for the big trophy), gains from attracting a projected 800,000 visitors to the city, and postive boosts to community relations and to the city's image by the welcome inclusion of traditional Ulster-Scots music and dancers along with those of immigrant communities.
The guide brochure (1) listed something approaching 300 events, mostly concerts, recitals, choral events in the festival. Established as well as some new venues, concert halls, museums, libraries, hotels, galleries, churches etc all hosted live performances. In addition, a "Gig Rig" (outdoor stage) was erected in front of the City Hall. Impossible to miss it. Many or perhaps most events had no admission charge.
Sun 2nd The Galway Girl
One such (unexpectedly) free event that I attended was a gig by the much-admired headline artist and Galway Girl (as composed in song by Canada's Steve Earle and recorded by him with her), Sharon Shannon. She is noted particularly for her spell-binding expertise on the button accordian. In this show she was joined on the Gig Rig by her 4-piece support "big band."
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| Sharon Shannon headlines Fleadh 26 at City Hall on opening night |
My preference would be hearing her perform with other trad musicians. On this occasion, my impression (rightly or wrongly) was that her natural expertise was dominated by the background male musicians, expert and all as they are. However to hear a session of over 90 minutes at no cost from an established star of trad in Ireland was a huge introductory treat and well worth it.
Mon 3rd Neuroscience
Next day I attended a so-called fringe event listed with an intriguing title. Under the banner of a Northern Ireland Science Festival event (as well as the auspices of the Fleadh) "The Neuroscience of the Harper's Brain" sounded too novel an act to miss. Harpist Ursula Burns was accompanied on the stage of the intimate Black Box by university neuroscientist Niamh Kennedy, with the latter wiring the musician for brain scans as Ursula played her very own magic music.
The scientific purpose was to demonstrate the positive benefits that musicians' brains derive from continuous practice over time. We the audience witnessed a feast of musical excellence with Ursula demonstrating flawless abilities, even playing a harp and piano simultaneously, and also singing as a perfect soprano.
A brilliant science lecture coupled with fab music. Only at Belfast Fleadh 2026.
City vibes
A by-product of this festival, which hit me early on, demands special mention. As I cycled to the harpist's gig (an easy decision given traffic restrictions providing greater priority and safety for pedestrians in the city centre) it suddenly struck me that I’d never felt such a beautiful atmosphere in Belfast. Neither had I ever encountered more people, both locals and visitors from just about everywhere on earth converging in "downtown" Belfast. And this was just the first days of the Fleadh.
The sensation of well-being was repeated (and expanded) on subsequent visits to our crowded and increasingly happy city centre, both by day and in late evening. A regular daily occurrence, in fact.
This is such a change for our place, a peaceful aspect of everyday living, hopefully set to become something permanent. To me it has been reminiscent of how Scotland's capital city similarly transforms around the arts and culture when the Edinburgh Festival gets going every August.
Tues 4th Ómós na nUltach
The next evening I was back in the Ulster Hall for a highly recommended concert (the title translates as Tribute to the Ulstermen) performed by The Ulster Trad Folk Orchestra. Again the hall was packed and full of anticipation. A sense of management's attention to organisation was immediately clear from the forensic details both of the repertoire and also in biographies about the 32 musicians provided in the free programme (2). Every Ulster county (and some others) was represented by the players. A festival highlight.
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| The Ulster Trad Folk Orchestra, conductor & Composer Michael Rooney |
Wed 5th Bursary winners
An opportunity to sample the emerging Belfast talent of the future came next afternoon in a different venue. A disparate group of seven musicians, previous winners of the prestigious TG4 (the Irish language television station) Gradam bursary awards, played on a stage in the Ulster Museum. A steward informed me that they had never played before together as a group.
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| The New Generation - Gradam Ceoil Bursary Concert |
Multi-tasking seems like a shared skill. Some sang as well as played trad music, some demonstrated skill and ability with more than one instrument. In addition to explaining how the bursary encouraged their progress in beginning musical careers, one winner recounted her reinvesting of the award in encouraging children living in deprived areas to play music. How humbling is that type of account.
Ebb and Flow
That same Wednesday at night, I attended a BBC concert in the packed Ulster Hall, where the Ulster Orchestra's 90-minute concert was broadcast live (3) to the nation, or more accurately to the region.
The Orchestra's own PR described the event as "very special" it being part of Belfast's hosting of the Fleadh "for the very first time." It's tempting to add that the first appearance of the Fleadh in Belfast is the biggest boost to cultural life in Belfast since the formation of the Ulster Orchestra itself 60 years ago this year.
Ebb and Flow featured a broad range of established trad music talent, with the orchestra performing additional Irish trad music classics. Tonight's concert artists included professional trad musicians including Úna Monaghan,
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| Úna Monaghan harp with the UlsterOrchestra |
as well as Dónal O'Connor with Duke Special and John McSherry, Ryan Vail with Elma Orkestra, Michael Keeney, Gráinne Holland, the Belfast Bands Forum and Ards Comhaltas.
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| Ards CCE musicians with the UlsterOrchestra |
Concert presenters Neil Martin and Caoimhe NíChathail made special mention of the Bands Forum, the announcement being enthusiastically reciprocated by a houseful of appreciative vocal support. Another fine advertisement for the Fleadh and for community inclusion. Maurice Brown, director of the Bands Forum, had received the Comhaltas Bardic Award (4) for his important contribution to the preservation and promotion of traditional music and culture.
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| Belfast Bands Forum with Ulster Orchestra |
This exciting development in Fleadh participation was underlined a day later in a BBC news report (5). It cited references to the breaking down of "negative stereotypes around the loyalist community..." made by Darren Leighton the Bands Forum chairman, and by the drummer Jonathan Walker about the common bond and the "need to embrace all cultures." Consequently, the Forum musicians were impeccably well-prepared for their All-Ireland Fleadh debut in front of 2,000+ people on the Titanic Slipways on Thursday 6 August.
Thurs 6th The Half Room
A change of venue to the MAC where a new (to me) and haunting 4-piece ensemble of vocalists, Half Room, performed. The female duo of Pauline Scanlon from Dingle and Nicola Joyce from Galway, would win my prize for the most beautiful close harmonies I experienced at the entire Fleadh - or heard anywhere, for that matter, in many years. Like a feminine Simon and Garfunkle. They also appear as The Whileways (6) on occasions.
To quote the brochure, "Half Room encapsulates folk music in its rawest form ensuring that the spotlight remains firmly on the song and the singer." The quartet received ample support from Cobh-born Maria Byrne's skilled blending in an audience warm-up, singing Irish folk and contemporary accoustic music. Pleasing contrasts and variety all round.
Fri 7th Fleadh Cabaret followed by Lúnasa
I was drawn to a new (to me) venue for a Friday fringe event, called a Cabaret, at Shaftesbury Bowling Club in Annadale Avenue. On arrival, I was greeted by a frantically gesticulating person with vaguely familiar face, a club member, it transpired, whom I knew from work about two or more decades previously. Pleasant encounters like these only seem to happen at festivals.
The cabaret accomodated acts performing "a celebration of words song and community spirit (6)." The opening played to a national strength of literature, with a local (unnamed, sadly) poet's expertise in the humorous use of alliteration shining brightly.
He was followed by a Galway-based male and female vocalist pairing (Eoghan Ó'Ceannabháin and Niamh Keady-Tabbal), his expertise being the trad or "seán-nós" (old style) of singing; hers being the singing of hauntingly plaintiff songs in her native Lebanese language. More social inclusion boxes ticked; and stimulating because of the poetic quality in both performances.
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| Eoghan Ó'Ceannabháin and Niamh Keady-Tabbal |
It was an easy "trip" to the next planned event that evening, back in the city centre. Because GigRig events were running behind schedule, I was able to watch the last few numbers performed by the excellent 6-piece Scottish group, Trip. One of the group's musicians mentioned that she is from the Isle of Man, going on to introduce some Manx Gaelic words into her short speech. These were immediately familiar since Scots, Irish and Manx Gaelic are sister languages in Q-set of Celtic languages (the P sisterly grouping being Welsh, Cornish and Breton). This provided an instant connection for Trip with the audience.
Lúnasa (performing in the month that is their stage-name) is an accomplished 5-piece Irish group who play trad music in a mesmeric contemporary manner - not unlike rock musicians. Given earlier scheduling delays, the gig finished after midnight. Every tune and all of Lúnasa's musicianship were of the highest order.
I hadn't realised beforehand that two of its five musical geniuses are from Northern Ireland - uileann piper Cian Vallelly is from Armagh, and double bass player Trevor Hutchinson is a Cookstown man. An outstanding musical gig, in my opinion.
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| Lúnasa at the GigRig |
Sat 8th Crowds, spontaneous gigs, and more
The continuation of mostly sunny conditions provided the ideal start to Saturday. So, instead of heading straight to an event, this was the perfect opportunity to wander around the city centre first thing. An already crowded place felt like it was heaving while simultaneously emitting a happy vibe - in contrast to pre-Fleadh times.
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| Looking towards City Hall from Royal Avenue |
Enhancing the feeling of community well-being and spontaneity, a range of primarily young musicians and dancers took to the pavements to perform.
In the early Saturday afternoon, I attended a nearby fringe event. The Four Corners Flute Orchestra performed outside the 2 Royal Avenue venue (a former Tesco store & brfore that it was a Belfast Bank). Four Corners played a range of classic slow traditional Irish airs in a classical style. Beautifully relaxing flute music, expertly conducted.
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| The Four Corners Flute Orchestra, 2 Royal Avenue |
In or after 10 pm that night I attended a Céilí event at the GigRig . A lively 9 piece Connacht-style band, who happened to be the 2025 all-Ireland Fleadh céilí band champions performed their hearts out. Under the name of Glór na d'Tonn (meaning the sound of the waves), they played up-tempo trad tunes. They had the help of a ship-shape lady, a beautiful Irish dancer in perfect tune with the rhythmical music.
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| Glór na dTonn céilí band |
Earlier the band had presented the set dancing skills of a whirlwind 8-person ensemble, for whom the music was played at a seemingly impossible racing pace, but the dancers and musicians worked it flawlessly and in harmony (again I have videos as proof).
For good measure the Glór na dTonn's pianist Kathryn Tiernan won the prize for best Seán-Nós (old style) singer at this year's Fleadh competition. What a collection of trad talent.
Sunday 9th - the final day
To see out the Fleadh, the priority was to fit in a cross-section of events on the GigRig stage.
The first one was the much anticipated appearance of the Shankill Road Defenders Flute Band. Having watched several other flute ensembles over the course of the week, perhaps this one would stand out. Putting in a brave performance on a rare rainey afternoon, the Belfast troupe played in their normal rhythms, as those of a marching band.. All of this while seated, but nontheless highly effective over a shortish 25 minute set. The repertoire, pleasingly, consisted of Irish traditional tunes, such as the Star of the County Down. The bandsmen and lively leader got a solid reception from the audience.
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| Shankill Road Defenders Flute Band |
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| Portlaoise Comhaltas |
The next live performance came from Celtic Roots. A search describes it as "a recurring trad music project, ensemble name and festival act." My observations noted the contemporary Irish dancing skills as well as the fine musicianship. Reminiscent perhaps of Riverdance styling and techniques.
Perhaps photographs describe Celtic Roots better.
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| Celtic Roots |
After a break, I returned in time to witness Campbell College Bugles Pipes and Drums. This band is apparently the only one of its kind in any Northern Ireland school and one that was founded over 110 years ago. Its musicians, (I counted about 16) are all young, aged between 13 and 18.
What a fantastic sight and sound (I have a two videos to prove the point), and imposing stage presence.
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| Campbell College Bugles Pipes and Drums |
Another highlight of the Fleadh and of giving stage space to three musical experts was the appearance of the classically-trained fiddler Zoe Conway alongside her husband John McIntyre and master uileann piper Louise Mulcahy. The musical trio were accompanied by the serene dancer Edwina Guckian.
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| Zoe Conway, John McIntyre, Louise Mulcahy, Edwina Guckian |
Before heading off home for a good night's sleep, around midnight there was a special appearance - the 2026 winners of the All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil award for best Céilí band. The new champions are County Sligo's Lissadell Céilí Band. What a storming finish they provided.
An Irish dancing troupe performed in front of a hugely appreciative late night audience. Replicating the opening concert they finished by including extra dancers from Scotland and from India. And all dancing to the same tune.
This Fleadh has improved my understanding of what social inclusion means.
The lessons are clear. Everybody speaks about the fantastic vibe produced by the Fleadh in Belfast, the festival has presented a vast number of superb events, visitors (many for the first time) have praised the welcomes received from locals here and will return, community relations have been improved, and no trouble or unpleasantness has been reported.
Our thanks and congratulations - comhghairdeas ó chroí - go to Belfast City Council, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, the volunteers, public authorities, funders and emergency services who have all stepped up to make Belfast a happy place - and to the general public who have responded in droves.
© Michael McSorley 2026
References
1. Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann Belfast 2026. What's on guide. Belfast City Council & Comhaltas
2. "Ómós na nUltach" Michael Rooney the Ulster Trad Folk Orchestra & Friends 4 Aug 2026 Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann 75
3. BBC iPlayer Radio Ulster Ebb & Flow https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002zrvr?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile
4. RTE Radio 1 News 5 Aug 2026 "Uniting communities in Belfast through music" https://share.google/6PT8UZDw1JyH5oqAT
5. BBC News 6 Aug 2026 Catherine Morrison "New Territory" as marching band musicians prepare for the Fleadh https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg698w39e8o
6. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-whileaways-tickets-1992419253622?utm_experiment=test_share_listing&aff=ebdsshios&sg=a14ba059c360a53d5cb3ad3538660a290a8420c03b1cbec0851e124e186e90ffaba47355c77dfc0a32935aecbdae4da604cd47eda223f7eb58b8bf360faa076711eed6016696bbe0d560b6a625fd
7. City Wide Fleadh Fringe 17 July-23 August '26 Take the first step Comhaltas Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann Belfast 2026
