Cavan pulls out of Ulster Fleadh '21 running

The Ulster Fleadh was last held in Cavan Town in 1960.

Cavan Town will not compete to host the Ulster Fleadh next year.

Last weekend saw trad musicians across the county take part in a series of virtual events online after this year's fleadh was called off due to continuing concerns over the spread of the Coronavirus.

However, afterwards, and with a heavy heart, local musician Martin Donohoe and his Nyah Comhaltas Group who were the driving forces behind bringing the Fleadh Uladh to Cavan in 2020 announced that they would not be seeking to host the event in 2021.

In pre-Covid times the event has been seen as big boost for the county town, with Mullingar due to host the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil for the next two years.

It would have been the first time the Ulster Fleadh had been held in Cavan since Cootehill successfully staged the provincial event 20 years ago in 1999.

The Ulster Fleadh was last held in Cavan Town in 1960.

Cavan town is no stranger to hosting the Fleadh Cheoil competitions with more than one million people visiting the town over the three years when it hosted the All Ireland Fleadh for successive years between 2010-2012.

Last year's Ulster Fleadh was held in Castlewellan, Co Down, and hosting the festival locally was viewed an an opportunity to attract visitors from across the country, as well as from the UK and US.

The financial blow to the Cavan economy is measured against the estimated £3 million the event was worth to Castlewellan in 2019.

In an online post, Mr Donohoe said: 'Thanks NYAH Branch who shared videos for last Weekends Virtual Fleadh Uladh which was to be held in Cavan. We are not seeking to host it in 2021 and sending best wishes to whoever is selected for 2021 . Well Done Blackwater CB /Ciara Fox on their sold out drive in show.'

See next week's newspaper for full report.