The World's Largest Irish Music Gathering Kicks off in Wexford, Ireland from August 4-11, 2024

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Last year's Fleadh Cheoil

The world's largest Irish traditional music gathering, Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, kicks off August 4-11 in the Town of Wexford, Ireland.  The weeklong festival includes music, dance and singing competitions, concerts, workshops, and hundreds of tradition sessions that play out in pubs, restaurants, hotel lobbies and on the streets of Wexford.

The most anticipated events for many music lovers will be the competitions, which showcase musicians from Ireland and around the world.  

According to Ireland.com,  a number of exciting activities are scheduled for the week, including a Gig Rig on Wexford's Quayfront, providing free live music throughout the week, with pop up music events dotted throughout the winding streets in addition to scheduled concerts.  There's art exhibits and book launches, history walks and a workshop about Wexford's connections to the Vikings.  


On Thursday, August 8, tin whistle plays will gather to try and set a Guinness Book of Records for the largest number of people playing the instrument over a five minute period. 

See full schedule of events of daily activities.

The first Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann took place in Mullingar, County Westmeath in May 1951. It was organized by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Irish Music Association), a group of traditional musicians from the Pipers Club in Dublin and other Gaelic culture advocates from around Ireland. They sought to improve the standing of traditional Irish music, dance and language in Ireland, which had suffered due to a general cultural and economic stagnation on the island, and from the emergence of an American-dominated cultural ethos after World War II.  Read more about Comhaltas here. 


Street music 

New Englanders have strong connections to the Fleadh, with numerous local musi­cians winning coveted competitions over the years. Locally, the Boston branch of Comhaltas has an excellent musical education program, called the Boston Irish Music School, that teaches Irish traditional music to children and adults alike. 

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