Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann: The reel deal

If longevity and popularity are worth anything at all then Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, which continues at a breakneck pace over this weekend in Ennis, Co Clare, long ago secured its place as a — if not the — defining cultural event in Irish traditional music.

Last year, when the national festival was also held in the Clare capital, more than 400,000 people attended justifying the huge cross-community effort required to stage such a

gargantuan, good-hearted celebration.