20,000 Visitors Set To Descend Upon Roscrea   You are in · RoscreaOnline · Community · Fleadh Cheoil

Up to 20,000 visitors are expected to descend upon Roscrea next July, now that the town has obtained the prestigious honour of hosting this year’s Munster Fleadh Cheoil.

Altogether, it offers the people of Roscrea a great opportunity to not only enjoy themselves and the festivities, but to benefit from the occasion as well, through commerce, accommodation and transportation etc. The Munster Fleadh Cheoil will undoubtedly be the biggest event to hit Roscrea for many a day. The words of Dick Conroy PRO of Ros Cr Comhaltas speaking at the launch of the Munster Fleadh which took place on Wednesday evening last at the offices of Roscrea Credit Union.

From the 12th to the 18th of July this year Roscrea can expect an action packed week, full of thrills, excitement and entertainment. Cil's, guest performances from well renowned artists, fantastic competition, music workshops as well as dancing and singing on the streets will be the order of the day.

Back L/R: Seamus Ó Coistealbha, Paddy Troy, Donnchadh Ó Cinnéide, Declan Collier, Denis Ryan, Pat Joe Whelan, Brian King, Marion Hayes, Noel Coonan, Margaret Creed, Nora Troy, Joe Troy, Pauline Coonan
Front: Dick Conroy, Pat Flanagan, Assunta Ui Chathasaigh, Ted Brophy, Tadhg O Maolcatha, Rory Cunningham & Brendan Maher

Because the Roscrea Branch was so successful at organising the County Fleadh last year, it was asked to play host to the Munster Fleadh Cheoil in July this year. As one can appreciate, this will prove to be a very daunting task indeed, especially at a financial level where approximately 50,000 is needed to run the full program. At the launch Comhaltas reported that they need at least 12,000 - 15,000 in the kitty before it starts with its serious fundraising campaign. This money will have to be raised in advance of the competition by a combination of sponsorship, grants, fundraising, entry fees and sales. While the Munster Fleadh Committee at provincial level carry out a lot of co-ordinating work, the majority of the labour involved falls back to the local branch of Comhaltas who can expect some very demanding and challenging times in the months ahead. It is hoped that local businesses in particular will come in strong, with support for the Fleadh. Moral support is also important so non-business people and clubs etc can also play their part in creating what will hopefully be one of the most memorable events in the history of the town. Already Bank Of Ireland and AIB have pledged their support and on the night of the launch a particular word of thanks was given to Roscrea Credit Union who organised the launch night and have pledged their support for the Munster Fleadh over the last few months. The Credit Union has also offered their help in the organisation of peripheral items and the website that the credit union sponsor for the town www.roscreaonline.com, will play an instrumental role in the logistics that will be needed to accommodate the tremendous amount of over night visitors we can expect to flock to the town.

L/R Back: Pat Flanagan, Dick Conroy, Kathleen Maher, Ted Brophy, Anne Feehan, Seamus O Coistealbha, & Tim Maher.
Front: Deirdre Bergin, Carol Thompson, & Kay Browne.

The attendances at the Munster Fleadh Cheoil bear little resemblance to those attending the County Fleadh, something Roscrea people will quickly discover during the summer. For one thing, the standard of the players at all levels in the Munster Fleadh is the best in the province at the time. They attract a huge following that, because of the distances involved many will stay over for at least one or more nights.
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