Lissadell Céilí Band strikes gold!
There were jubilant scenes at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast when the 10 member Lissadell Céilí Band from Sligo were crowned All-Ireland Senior Céilí Band Champions of 2026 at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.
For Cavan players - Sinéad Halton on piano, Meabh Connolly on banjo, Seamus Tierney and Ruairí Griffin on flutes - it was a dream come true.
“Unbelievable” and “surreal” is how they describe feeling following the announcement after competing against 12 other teams from across the world.
Celebrations have being continuing throughout the week with the coveted trophy to visit all four provinces where members hail from: Cavan, Sligo, Mayo, Tipperary and Westmeath.
The band was formed in 2023 by a group of friends in Sligo. Meabh and Ruairí joined last summer, while Sinéad returned from Australia to rejoin them this year.
“We have been meeting every week since February with practices running into two to three hours long,” according to Mayo’s Aileen Bourke, who also has Cavan connections.
“We’ve been meeting up in places from Achill to Dublin and in between to accommodate all our members, some of whom work in Dublin”, echoes Sinéad.
“But it’s been worth all the driving when you get the top prize in the end”, said Seamus, while Meabh paid tribute to the band's former members.
Ruairí mentions the sheer scale of support the band have received through their journey from the Sligo Fleadh to Connaught, culminating in the Belfast fleadh win. “The roaring and shouting was unbelievable and I’d say that drove us on during our performance on stage.”
They members cite playing on Fleadh TV and TG4 with a police escort around the city followed by a reception in the Europa as being among the highlights of the night in Belfast.“I suppose we weren’t expecting the reception that we got. We went to the hotel and we’d all have a lot of friends in the trad scene, but even the other bands we competed against lining the stairs on the way to the ballroom for us - the applause was unreal”, exclaimed Seamus.