The Fleadh in retrospect
About mid-way in the hugely entertaining Ceili Band Finals in the 2,000 seater dome on the second Sunday night of Fleadh Cheoil na h-Eireann one of the pianos suddenly went out of tune, writes Peadar ó Brádaigh.
Having observed a similar occurrence during a competition in a midland town some years ago, I had an immediate foreboding of confusion, uncertainty, uneasiness and, finally, complaint breaking out in that order.
Is this the hitch which we all dreaded I thought?
Will this be the item which the national media will latch on to in an effort to show that, despite all the plaudits, Cavan's organisation would, on the final night, spring a gaping hole?
I shouldn't have worried. From seemingly nowhere a line of six sturdy members of the John Molloy battalion of stewards appeared on the bandstand; matters were put to rights and the competition continued without interruption. I mention this specifically because it epitomised the standards of attention to detail and efficiency which drew such praise from so many over the 10 days.
It also was favourably remarked on by the Ard-Stiúrthóir of Comhaltas Ceoltoire Eireann, Labhras Ó Murchu, in his final address on the night.
It lent further credence to the old adage that what you put into a project is what you will get out of it.
Service with a smile
To those of us who attended all day everyday this spirit of service to the public was self evident and permeated each and every one of the hundreds of events and performances over the totality of the Fleadh. The 1,100 volunteers can certainly return to their parishes throughout Cavan confident that they played a starring role in the overall success of the never to be forgotten event. If I may be so bold as to say so, my own native parish of Ballymachugh certainly played its part by providing not alone its quota of stewards but three committee chairmen and a vice-chair to the FEC (Fleadh Executive Committee).
Spread this throughout the county and you will get some idea of the standard of service and pride in our county which motivated all concerned.
The media
That the national media, while according great publicity to Cavan in the week before the Fleadh, almost completely ignored it afterwards paid their own - perhaps unintended - compliment to it and to its trouble-free modus operandi.
It also underpinned the veracity of the old media mantra - "no news is good news".
In all fairness and in the interest of balance it must be recorded that RTE, in the lead in to the Fleadh, screened a series of excellent excerpts from the 2010 event.
As a promotional tool for 2011 it was top drawer material especially so since the presentation by John Creedon struck all the right notes - what an awful pun!
The local media, as usual - The Celt, Northern Sound and Cavan Community Radio - were on top of their game from early on and provided much high quality material.
They came from far and near
Never was the above adage more apt. My involvement with Seachtain na Gaeilge - with our Ionad na Gaeilge ins an Priomh Sráid - presented a perfect opportunity to make the acquaintance of, and determine the county and country of origin of many visitors.
To say that there were surprises galore is to put it mildly.
Imagine a youngish man coming in and immediately launching in to perfect Irish without saying where he was from.
As we casually wondered was it Donegal, Connemara or Kerry, out he came with it - Seattle, Washington!
There were also the young ladies we observed wandering around picking up items of promotional material.
They told us that since they were running an Irish class at home they were delighted to get such perfect and useful items. And where were they from?
You would never guess - it was a town with an almost unpronounceable name situated about 200 kilometres east of Moscow.
Let us not forget either the already mentioned and absolutely wonderful ceili band finals with stirring contributions coming from Ireland, Glasgow, Leeds, New York and, believe it or not, Cleveland, Ohio.
An Gaeilge
On the broader matter of the language itself there was delight among the volunteers in Ionad na Gaeilge at not alone the numbers visiting but the spread of ages, standards and, very importantly, the obvious enthusiasm from Irish, both as an academic subject, and as a conversational imperative.
The very welcome impression is that there is now more goodwill for Teanga Na nGael than at any time since the foundation of the State.
An dúchas agus an cultúr
There is no doubt but that the enormous throng which attended Fleadh Cheoil na h-Eireann in Cabhán in 2011, combined with their gentleness, their courtesy and their all-round exemplary behaviour epitomised what we believe to be a perfect example of the ancient culture and heritage of the Gael going back to the dawn of history.
If we rightly compliment the army of stewards who worked so diligently to ensure success, then surely we must pay many thousands of compliments to our legions of visitors who, by their adherence to Celtic standards of courtesy and concern for others, left an indelible mark on our modern festival of culture and heritage. Go mberimid beo ar an ám seo arís.
Sean fhocal: Ceannaigh an maor agus ní baol duit an máistir. Buy the steward and you needn't fear the master.
Post a Comment