Positive meeting held as Ballina takes first steps in bid for 2028 All Ireland Fleadh
Councillor John O’Hara recently met Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Director General Dr Labhrás O’Murchú at Comhaltas Ceoltóirí HQ in Dublin.
A very positive meeting was held recently where there was a favourable reaction to the chances of the 2028 All Ireland Fleadh being held in Ballina.
Cllr John O’Hara and Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Director General Dr Labhrás O’Murchú met in Dublin to discuss the work that needs to be done. They spoke about the organisational structure, accommodation, venues, financing the Fleadh, and local authority support.
"It was very positive and Mr O’Murchú said he could not believe how well the 2023 Connacht Fleadh in Ballina went," Cllr O’Hara said. "He believes if we put the work and preparation in, there is no reason why we cannot be successful."
The cost of staging the event is €2 million and the bid application needs to be submitted by 2026 with an initial €150,000 required.
"There will have to be an amount of money gathered up at that stage by the Fleadh committee and they will need to start collecting money beforehand," Cllr O'Hara added.
The Fine Gael representative, who organised the first meeting in 2021 to discuss a possible All-Ireland Fleadh bid, said sponsorship can help with funding.
"We also talked about the rates and rather than getting it from the ordinary ratepayers in the town, to go to the big multinationals in the county,” he said. "The county council can increase the rates on them rather than put it up on the shopkeeper."
Cllr O'Hara will put forward a motion at next month's meeting of Mayo County Council asking what support the local authority will provide.
