Write a comment
Just when we all need an uplift after the lockdown years, along comes Newry’s biggest ever music festival, Iúr Cinn Fleadh – with more than 100 events and activities – most of them offering free admission.
Pushed down by the pandemic, now we can rise up on a tide of traditional sounds, creative comedy and family fun from 25-29 August – as Newry’s city centre becomes filled with music and laughter.
Town Hall gigs for The Sands Family and Matt McGinn
The event bounces back with headliners at the historic Town Hall – folk phenomenon The Sands Family on 27 August and singer-songwriter Matt McGinn on 26 August. Both concerts will also feature special guests.
As well as such local legends playing our premier music venue, the city’s cafes and bars will resonate with traditional tunes as a whole host of singers and musicians play sessions while you sip your tea or tipple.
San Francisco’s acoustic duo Noctambule will launch their latest album Every Migrant Is My Fellow with a set of songs at Nan Rice’s on 28 August. Firm friends of the Fleadh, they are taking part in other festival activities, too.
Kieran Cunningham is Dave Allen
Award-winning Newry actor Kieran Cunningham brings his one-man show on Dave Allen back to the city. For those who missed it at the 2018 Fleadh, this is an opportunity to witness Kieran’s remarkable portrayal of the legendary Irish satirist – or others can watch it a second time on 25 August. Even Steve Coogan is a fan!
Fleadh Street Feast
The ever growing Street Feast is taking to Newry Market on Sunday 28 August from 1-7pm for the Fleadh. Local chef Melissa McCabe has created Street Feast, an innovative food and drink event showcasing producers and chefs from our region. And she’s bringing it to the Fleadh! Celebrate some of the world’s finest food, farmed and formed in this locality. Admission is £2 and children are free. Entertainment will be provided by Ceol from 2-4pm and Parcel of Rogues from 4.30-6.30pm.
Family Fun
A packed programme of family fun will take place from 10am Saturday 27 August at Marcus Square in Newry city centre. All ages will be able to take part in a packed programme of outdoor games, music, art, caricatures, poetry and puppetry.
Among those making the merriment will be Manchester poet Tony Walsh, who has served as Poet in Residence at Glastonbury Festival and recently wrote a tribute to Martin Hibbert, who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in a specially-adapted wheelchair.
Also boosting people’s spirits will be artist John Farrelly, who created the image for this year’s Iúr Cinn Fleadh poster, has produced Irish history books for children and draws caricatures for special occasions – which he’ll be doing in Newry.
Bikes and Beats on the Street
A new event for Newry
On Sunday 28 August at 2pm the Fleadh is reclaiming the streets of Newry for everyone who loves getting out on their bike. Get yourself and the entire family down and join us for a fun lap of the city with Irish Rapper & DJ Cú Chulainn leading the way while belting out the tunes. Meet at the entrance to the Greenway on the Albert Basin.
The Caroline Session
The Canal Court Hotel is the place to be on Sunday 28 August from 2-6pm for the annual Caroline Session in memory of Caroline Fegan. A native of St Albans in England, Caroline moved to Burren in 2001 where she lived with her husband Cormac and their two girls, Aislinn and Cliodhna.
A multi instrumentalist, Caroline was a highly accomplished prize winning champion representing Comhaltas on many overseas tours and broadcasts. Caroline contributed to the local Irish music scene in a variety of roles as a teacher with both Warrenpoint CCE and Armagh Pipers Club, a mentor, performer and adjudicator.
A Trad Cruise
Newry Canal used to resonate with the sounds of Irish navvies as they dug and sang their way through its construction early in the 18th century. It will be filled with music once again in the 21st century, as Iúr Cinn Fleadh launch their Trad Cruises.
Carrying on the canal’s musical tradition is part of the heart of Iúr Cinn Fleadh, Newry’s music and community festival. It’s a unique feature. Not many music events offer canal cruises with wine and song as part of their repertoire.
Cruising on the canal is among the high-water marks of Newry’s highly popular Fleadh. From 25-29 August, the romantic and restored Brienne – fresh from the 1940s – will host the Fleadh’s unique Trad Cruises up and down the city’s historic canal.
Voyagers will enjoy a glass of wine while listening to live music on this wonder-filled waterway of jumping fish and gliding herons. Even in inclement weather, passengers will disembark with a skip in their step – but mind the gap as you go!
Picnic at the Lock
Turn the Greenway into a path of hope – by walking from Albert Basin to Victoria Lock on Saturday 27 August. Join PIPS Hope and Support on this summer trek that comes complete with live music and moments just to chill out. Bring a packed lunch and your dancing shoes! PIPS Hope and Support is our region’s leading independent advocate on all aspects of suicide. Meet at entrance to Greenway at 11am. £5 Donation.
Book for the events you want at – www.iurcinnfleadh.com/tickets
Fleadh Launch
The Fleadh was launched on Thursday past in Nan Rices in the company of Council Chairperson, Cllr Michael Savage.
Speaking at the event Columba O'Hare fron the Fleadh Committee said "I'd like to welcome everyone especially Cllr Michael Savage, Chairperson, Newry, Mourne And Down District Council and Aaron Bradley Newry BID.
"Without the financial support from these two organisations Iúr Cinn Fleadh 2022 would not be happening so it is only right to acknowledge that.
"I’d also like to welcome and congratulate Oisin Bradley and Aoibhín and Lucia Morgan on their Senior Trio win at Fleadh Cheoil na Éireann, and indeed look forward to their involvement in our fleadh this year.
"It has been a difficult year organising the festival. All festivals have experienced the same, a lot of last minute preparation and in some ways, with missing two years due to Covid, we all forgot how we did it in the first place!"
The committee believe this year’s festival is the best they have ever produced and are all so excited with the weekend ahe
O'Hare continued "|In 2022 we are saluting local gems, The Sands Family and Matt McGinn will perform two outstanding gigs in Newry Town Hall. Kieran Cunningham brings his hilarious Dave Allen show back to the city.
"We will be joining Newry photographer Seán Hillen in viewing ‘Tomorrow is Saturday’ a documentary on his life.
"Newry Community Choir and Cloughmore Singers are also performing at the stunning Riverside Church with Carla Maney and Hannah Barrett.
"The Singing Pub sees Briege Murphy host an evening embracing the power of the song."
New Events
O'Hare spoke on some new events happening this year
"On top of all the usual offerings, session trails,, trad cruises, Irish Language events, poetry and children’s events, there are many new offerings.
"We are embracing the great outdoors with Picnic at the Lock, a walk along the beautiful Carlingford Lough Greenway from the Albert Basin to Victoria Lock, in support of PIPS Hope and Support, with music at the Lock to prepare you for the walk back!
"Bikes and Beats on the Street will be a fun event for everyone who loves getting out on their bike. Families and bikers of all ages are encouraged to join us for a lap of the city with Irish Rapper & DJ Cú Chulainn belting out the tunes. Cú Chulainn will also be hosting a Rap Concert.
"We have watched other towns, especially Dundalk embrace the power of murals in enhancing their town. This year the Fleadh will be producing what we hope will be the first of many outstanding murals for our city at Merchants Quay, just one of our many arts events.
He continued "Newry Water Festival also joins the Fleadh this year for an afternoon of family entertainment around the Albert Basin.
"There will be a fascinating Hidden Hill Street – Sráid Hill Faoi Cheilt bilingual walk, an intensive Irish course as well as the Exhibition Protestants and the Gaelic languages.
"Classical Music has arrived at the Fleadh with Classics by Candlelight from Newry Chamber Music.
"The inspirational young people at Crisis Café will be showcasing a multitude of different styles of music at their Music of Our Generation gig.
"Melissa McCabe is bringing her Street Feast to the Fleadh on the Sunday for all who enjoy local produce … and who doesn’t!
"Celebrating the Polish communities contribution to Newry we have music and food at the Flavour of Europe evening.
"TenX9 are bringing their storytelling event to the Fleadh for the first time while poet Tony Walsh returns for the second. Our international visitors Noctambule from San Francisco are also returning.
"Dancing on the Green is back, an event where we bring the music and dance to your front door literally.
"Lastly where would you be without a bit of nostalgia! Days Gone By will remind us of Newry as it was with clips from Northern Ireland Screen’s film archive."
Looking Forward
Concluding O'Hare spoke of the need to expand festival funding and spoke of the importance of the Committee members as well as volunteers co-ordinated by Volunteer Now.
"We believe we are providing Newry City with a £100K festival from a budget, a third of that - something we are very proud of. We have learned a lot of lessons along the way and we will have to increase funding majorly in the years to come to achieve what Newry deserves.
"Iúr Cinn Fleadh would like to thank all our supporters, participants and venues who year after year embrace the festival.
"We started with the aim of making our fleadh a signature festival for Newry City. This year brings that forward another massive step. We have big plans and bigger ideas but absolutely none of this happens without the endless hours put in by our small dedicated committee and our volunteers.
"All we need in return is for Newry’s residents to get out and support as many events as possible, and together we will give our city the boost it needs."
Fantastic Line Up
Also speaking at the launch was Cllr Michael Savage, Chairperson, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.
"This is a fantastic, fantastic line-up and something that I think you'll be very proud of when the curtain comes down on this years Festival, but I agree we should have ambition for this festival to be a £100,000 festival and funded to that extent, and I think that we've had conversations as close as yesterday, I was at a meeting up in Downpatrick and they were talking about devising our Tourism agenda and our Tourism Strategy and a lot of questions came from the floor and one of the submissions I made was that I've spent the last seven or eight weeks going round every single festival and fleadh we've had in our district, running from as far away as Killyleagh and Saintfield, down as far as Culloville and Cullyhanna and it's very important for me to stress that I think covid did us all a favour because the smaller festivals in our district have come back bigger and better than ever, because a lot of them went back to basics and did the things that make good old fashioned festivals what they were, which is community involvement, having everybody play a role and getting involved in everything that's been done.
"Take for example Fiddlers Green Festival, it was exceptional, the Loughside Festival I know has been able to make that seismic step from moving on from the Maiden of The Mournes Festival and coming into the 21st century with a programme that I know they will build on next year, but Iúr Cinn Fleadh as far as Newry is concerned, I think that is the future of our festival and should be the flagship festival for our city and the Council needs to invest in that and I certainly will be pushing very hard during my year as Chair that we leave a legacy that the funding that you need to build on this and make it bigger and better than ever is there."
Come out and Enjoy it
Cllr Savage continued "The best thing we can all do is to encourage everyone to come out and enjoy it and the feedback I get every year from this festival is that there's so much to do. You could walk from one end of the town to the other and you could be 3 hours getting from one end to the other because there's so much to do, and that's what makes a good festival, when there's something for everybody - an eclectic mix."
Concluding he added "I wish you all the very best and it's great to have the Sands Family front and centre. They're great ambassadors for this district and this area and have been for many many years, and it's great that you rightfully are the centrepiece of this festival. I wish you all the best"
For More information or Tickets go to www.iurcinnfleadh.com or check out their Facebook or Twitter accounts.
