The Fleadh Cheoil (lit. Festival of Music in English) is an Irish music competition run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ). The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... An Irish band playing in the Hetzel Union Building, Penn State University. ... Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Society of Irish Musicians in English), refers to an organisation in Ireland which is dedicated to the promotion of the music, song, dance and language of Ireland. ...

There are various stages to the competition. In England there are regionals, then nationals and then qualifications for the All-Ireland and in Ireland there are counties, provinces then the All-Ireland. One can compete in just about any instrument and there are various age categories. It is considered very competitive. Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ...

The first national festival of Irish traditional music was held in Mullingar in 1951. At its inaugural meeting in September 1951, CCÉ came up with the title of Fleadh Cheoil, aiming to make this a great national festival. Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic politically divided between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

In the years that followed, fleadheanna (the plural form of fleadh) at county and provincial were organised. Since then, Fleadh Nua (the new fleadh), Fleadh na Breataine (an All-Britain fleadh) and regional fleadhanna in Britain, and two major fleadhanna in the USA have also become annual CCÉ events. The island of Ireland was historically divided into 32 counties (Irish language contae or condae, pronounced IPA: ). After the partition of Ireland in 1921, what became the Republic of Ireland comprised 26 of these, with Northern Ireland comprising the remaining six. ... During late Gaelic and early historic times Ireland was divided into provinces to replace the earlier system of the tuatha. ...

From its beginning, the goal of the Fleadh Cheoil was to establish standards in Irish traditional music through competition. The Fleadh developed as a mainly competitive event, but it also included many concerts, céilithe, parades, pageants, and street sessions. Marines on parade A parade is an organized procession of people along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by decorated vehicles called floats or sometimes large lighter-than-air balloons with complex shapes. ... Look up pageant in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Irish traditional music sessions are informal gatherings at which people play or sing traditional Irish music. ...

Right through the sixties and seventies, the Fleadh continued to grow and the number of would-be competitors grew so large that qualifying stages had to be arranged, at county and provincial level, to produce a manageable number of participants for the All-Ireland finals at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.

Today, nearly 50 years on, fleadhanna at each level provide a platform and a meeting place for the thousands of musicians (around 20,000 performers compete in fleadhanna each year) who carry on the tradition of playing and cherishing Irish music, songs, and dances. Impromptu sessions usually follow the competitions.

The Fleadh Cheoil was held in Letterkenny for two consecutive years, in 2005 and 2006. The 2007 festival will be held in Tullamore, County Offaly WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... Tullamore (Tulach Mhór in Irish) is a large town in County Offaly, Republic of Ireland, located in the midlands region of Ireland, with approxiamately 20,000 (census 2002) inhabitants in the district. ... Statistics Province: Leinster County Town: Tullamore Code: OY Area: 1,999 km² Population (2006) 70,604 Website: www. ...

Competition categories

According to CCÉ's official rules for 2005,

Solo competitions shall be held for the following instruments: fiddle; two-row accordion; concert flute; whistle; piano accordion; concertina; uilleann pipes; harp; mouth organ; banjo; mandolin - excluding banjo-mandolin; piano; old-style melodeon; bodhrán; war pipes; miscellaneous such as three and five row button accordion, piccolo, harmonica and other stringed instruments; céilí band drums; accompaniment – confined to piano, harp, guitar and bouzouki type instruments; solo traditional singing in Irish and English; whistling; lilting; newly composed ballads and amhráin nua-cheaptha.

Solo competitions for slow airs shall be held in all age groups for the following instruments: (a) fiddle; (b) concert flute; (c) whistle; (d) uilleann pipes.

There are also competitions for the following ensembles: duet, trio, ceili band, instrumental group (grupai cheoil), accordion band, pipe band, and miscellaneous ensemble.

The full rule set, which may change from year to year, is available from CCÉ.

See also

• List of All-Ireland Champions

This page lists some of those who have won the senior championships at the Fleadh Cheoil since its founding in 1951 by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. ...

External links

• Flying to the Fleadh
• All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann