Partly because it seems to depend on where it takes place.
I have never been to one ~ any worth checking out near Chico/ Pacific NW/ British Columbia/ Idaho . . .
Trying to remember way, way back . . . I grew up with harvest festivals/ county & state fairs/ & amusement parks.
No fleadh! These days every little (& big) event is called a festival.
Tried Google slash Wikipedia & only got lost.
I'm turning to the collective knowledge of you fine tunesmiths ~
"What is a Fleadh? What makes for it being a good one?
I'm guessing the answer to the 2nd question is ~ Sessions!
A fleadh can of course be simply a festival, but the one’s I’ve been to here in the US Midwest have been organized under the auspices of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and are focused on competition.
A feis is usually focused on dancing.
A tionól is usually focused on uilleann pipes.
As I understand it, there’s a lot of overlap between these types of gatherings.
Not being Irish but any fleadh I have attended has been organized by Comhaltas. Thus I always associate it with a certain approach to the music. I presume that was why accordiongirl hated the world fleadh: it obviously does not have that Comhaltas feel.
"Fleadh" just means feast or festival in Gaelic. Fleadh Ceoil is a music festival. In Ireland "fleadh" typically implied a feast with drinking.
nfldbox wrote: "I presume that was why accordiongirl hated the world fleadh: it obviously does not have that Comhaltas feel."
I'm no fan of Comhaltas, but the reason she hated "The World Fleadh" was that it didn't have any festival feel. I was there, it was absolutely awful! I've never been to a more dead festival. http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/22287
Thanks everyone. I just finished work & am now reading the comments.
Seems like gathering to celebrate with feasting & drinking is it.
Odd thing is that just because there is a festival doesn't mean there is music. Thus it leaves it to those who really want to session to make it a Fleadh Ceoil.
A fleadh is an event of Irish traditional music, many of which take place across Ireland and parts of Britain and the U.S. each year.
"Fleadh" (pronounced "flah") simply means "festival" in the Irish language (also known as Gaeilge or Gaelic); the plural is "Fleadhanna".
In Ireland, the Fleadh begins at county level (Ireland has 32 counties, 26 in the Republic and six in Northern Ireland)
and then at provincial level in Ulster, Connacht, Leinster and Munster.
The winners and best-placed make it to the All-Ireland Fleadh in August, which is held in a series of venues in the host town, which rotates each year.
In August 2005, the event was held in Letterkenny, County Donegal and it is expected to return to the north-western town in 2006.
The first national festival of Irish traditional music was held in Mullingar, early in 1951.
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann aimed to make this a great national festival and, at its inaugural meeting in September 1951,
came up with the title of Fleadh Cheoil (a Festival of Music).
In the years that followed, the County Fleadh and the Provincial Fleadh found their places in the traditional music calendar.
Since then, Fleadh Nua, Fleadh na Breataine (an All-Britain Fleadh Cheoil), regional Fleadhanna in Britain,
and two major Fleadhanna in the USA have also become annual CCÉ events.
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.
Right through the 1960s and 1970s, 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 Éireann.
Today, nearly 50 years on, the 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 great tradition of playing and cherishing Irish music, songs, and dances.
And when the competitions are over, all can join in impromptu sessions which sometimes last until the early hours.
In Britain, the Fleadh takes place most summers in Finsbury Park, London, England.
The first British-based Fleadh was in 1990, and the early events featured mostly Irish acts such as Van Morrison and The Pogues.
More recently, however, the event's organisers have attempted to sustain its box-office appeal by introducing more mainstream acts,
such as Sting, Neil Young and, in 2004, Bob Dylan.
What exactly is a fleadh?
What exactly is a fleadh?
Partly because it seems to depend on where it takes place.
I have never been to one ~ any worth checking out near Chico/ Pacific NW/ British Columbia/ Idaho . . .
Trying to remember way, way back . . . I grew up with harvest festivals/ county & state fairs/ & amusement parks.
No fleadh! These days every little (& big) event is called a festival.
Tried Google slash Wikipedia & only got lost.
I'm turning to the collective knowledge of you fine tunesmiths ~
"What is a Fleadh? What makes for it being a good one?
I'm guessing the answer to the 2nd question is ~ Sessions!
Here are a few worthless references;
Galway ~ Ireland's Cultural Heart
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galway#Events
"Bob Dylan, Fleadh festival, Finsbury Park"
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/bob-dylan-fleadh-festival-finsbury-park-732994.html
Festival
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festival#.22Fests.22
# Posted on August 7th 2009 by Ben Steen
Re: What exactly is a fleadh?
Opportunity to get 'langered' with kindred spirits??
# Posted on August 7th 2009 by the wounded hussar
Fair play! but still,
wounded, you can do that anytime, anywhere, with or w/out anybody. So . . .
# Posted on August 7th 2009 by Ben Steen
Re: What exactly is a fleadh?
Only pure Irish festival sort of thing in the Pacific NW that I know of is Friday Harbor camp. I hear it sells out very early every year.
# Posted on August 7th 2009 by awildman2384
Re: What exactly is a fleadh?
cheers 2384!
# Posted on August 7th 2009 by Ben Steen
Re: What exactly is a fleadh?
According to the glossary at http://comhaltas.ie "fleadh" simply means "feast" or "festival". I guess that means it's whatever the organizer makes it.
# Posted on August 7th 2009 by GaryAMartin
Re: What exactly is a fleadh?
A fleadh can of course be simply a festival, but the one’s I’ve been to here in the US Midwest have been organized under the auspices of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and are focused on competition.
A feis is usually focused on dancing.
A tionól is usually focused on uilleann pipes.
As I understand it, there’s a lot of overlap between these types of gatherings.
# Posted on August 7th 2009 by fidkid
Re: What exactly is a fleadh?
ones
# Posted on August 7th 2009 by fidkid
Re: What exactly is a fleadh?
@Fidkid
"auspices" that's a good word to describe it..
I like that.
# Posted on August 7th 2009 by madfluter
Re: What exactly is a fleadh?
cheers, rich!
# Posted on August 7th 2009 by fidkid
Re: What exactly is a fleadh?
Not being Irish but any fleadh I have attended has been organized by Comhaltas. Thus I always associate it with a certain approach to the music. I presume that was why accordiongirl hated the world fleadh: it obviously does not have that Comhaltas feel.
# Posted on August 7th 2009 by nfldbox
Re: What exactly is a fleadh?
"Fleadh" just means feast or festival in Gaelic. Fleadh Ceoil is a music festival. In Ireland "fleadh" typically implied a feast with drinking.
nfldbox wrote: "I presume that was why accordiongirl hated the world fleadh: it obviously does not have that Comhaltas feel."
I'm no fan of Comhaltas, but the reason she hated "The World Fleadh" was that it didn't have any festival feel. I was there, it was absolutely awful! I've never been to a more dead festival.
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/22287
# Posted on August 7th 2009 by klhsadhfahslkdfhsalk
Re: What exactly is a fleadh?
Thanks everyone. I just finished work & am now reading the comments.
Seems like gathering to celebrate with feasting & drinking is it.
Odd thing is that just because there is a festival doesn't mean there is music. Thus it leaves it to those who really want to session to make it a Fleadh Ceoil.
# Posted on August 8th 2009 by Ben Steen
What exactly is a fleadh?
Let me know if the experts missed anything ;)
A fleadh is an event of Irish traditional music, many of which take place across Ireland and parts of Britain and the U.S. each year.
"Fleadh" (pronounced "flah") simply means "festival" in the Irish language (also known as Gaeilge or Gaelic); the plural is "Fleadhanna".
In Ireland, the Fleadh begins at county level (Ireland has 32 counties, 26 in the Republic and six in Northern Ireland)
and then at provincial level in Ulster, Connacht, Leinster and Munster.
The winners and best-placed make it to the All-Ireland Fleadh in August, which is held in a series of venues in the host town, which rotates each year.
In August 2005, the event was held in Letterkenny, County Donegal and it is expected to return to the north-western town in 2006.
The first national festival of Irish traditional music was held in Mullingar, early in 1951.
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann aimed to make this a great national festival and, at its inaugural meeting in September 1951,
came up with the title of Fleadh Cheoil (a Festival of Music).
In the years that followed, the County Fleadh and the Provincial Fleadh found their places in the traditional music calendar.
Since then, Fleadh Nua, Fleadh na Breataine (an All-Britain Fleadh Cheoil), regional Fleadhanna in Britain,
and two major Fleadhanna in the USA have also become annual CCÉ events.
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.
Right through the 1960s and 1970s, 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 Éireann.
Today, nearly 50 years on, the 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 great tradition of playing and cherishing Irish music, songs, and dances.
And when the competitions are over, all can join in impromptu sessions which sometimes last until the early hours.
In Britain, the Fleadh takes place most summers in Finsbury Park, London, England.
The first British-based Fleadh was in 1990, and the early events featured mostly Irish acts such as Van Morrison and The Pogues.
More recently, however, the event's organisers have attempted to sustain its box-office appeal by introducing more mainstream acts,
such as Sting, Neil Young and, in 2004, Bob Dylan.
http://en.allexperts.com/e/f/fl/fleadh.htm
# Posted on August 8th 2009 by Ben Steen
Re: What exactly is a fleadh?
Dylan also played the Finsbury Park Fleadh in 1992 - terrible show.
# Posted on August 9th 2009 by RockyRoader
Re: What exactly is a fleadh?
I hope he didn't try to play irish. ;)
# Posted on August 9th 2009 by Ben Steen