Portglenone Fleadh 2024 Report
We started off our 2024 County Antrim Fleadh week with two great events tonight!
First we had a wonderful junior singing session hosted by Alish Hanna, where the younger singers had a chance to hone their skills and pick up some competition tips!
Then followed an extremely informative talk given by local historian and archaeologist Thomas McErlean on the Townlands of Co Antrim.
Thank you so much to Thomas, Alish and all attendees for a great nights entertainment 😊
🌟Day 2 of our 2024 Fleadh program complete 😊
A super evening of fun was had in the Men’s Shed, Portglenone this evening where the first event was a mindfulness session for young people hosted by Katie Carey. As you can see in the pictures lots of fun and games were had and hopefully everyone will be relaxed for bed tonight 😇
We then followed on with a talk by Nora from the ALPS charity (who we are supporting this year by collecting donations).
A very informative talk was given highlighting the important work that ALPS do. We are so lucky to have an amazing organisation like theirs, ready and available if we require, thank you lads for all that you do 😊❤️
🌟Day 3 of our 2024 Fleadh program complete 😊
Our junior session starting with a bang!
That wraps up day 3!! Another evening packed full of fun and entertainment 🎻🌟
Well done to the junior players tonight who came together for a wee session with our senior players and I’m sure you can hear by the video - they were on fine form 👏🏻🎻🪗🎶
And a massive thank you to the hostess with the mostess, Máire Darragh, who put together a fantastic tráth na gceist table quiz!! Well done to the winners too and don’t eat all the chocolate at one 😆🍫
🌟🌟What a night for a Céilí 🌟🌟
A massive thank you to the Dunloy Céilí band for keeping everyone dancing all night long! Also, to our Céili Caller, Diarmuid O Bhruadair! What a brilliant night’s craic had by everyone.
Friday nights Portglenone CCE 50th Anniversary 2024 Fleadh Concert was played to a packed house of over 350 guests attending in The Wild Duck Inn’s Riverside Suite. First up we had the Portglenone CCE Group with over 50 musicians, both young and a wee bit older, taking to the stage with a fine set of Tunes, songs and dances thrown in.
The second half saw the eagerly awaited local group, Déanta, piped to the stage to a raucous applause by McNeillstown Pipe Band’s very own, James Andrews, nephew of our founding member Edith Reid (nee Andrews). After a hiatus of over twenty years, we finally got Déanta together to play a fantastic set of classic Déanta tunes and songs.
Just before their encore, Chairman of the Portglenone Branch and Antrim and Ulster Chairman, Eamon Graham, presented all the members of Déanta with their Gradam Awards for their services to music over the years. This was followed by Déanta being joined onstage with their siblings to perform a final set of fantastic tunes to end a wonderful evening. A session ensued into the wee small hours upstairs in The Wild Duck Inn.
Saturday began early in the local St. Mary’s Primary School for the Fleadh Competitions which were attended in force by many competitors throughout the day. Many cups and trophies were won and many a new fresh-faced competitor graced the Fleadh 2024 for their first time.
Sessions continued throughout the day in the open air with the fine spell of good weather continuing to be good to us. On Saturday evening, after all the competitions were over, we had a fantastic singing session lead by Mairead Walls and Clodagh Warnock (Déanta) in The Bank Building attended by a great number of singers and followers.
The Céilí Bands and Grupaí Cheoil Competitions kicked off on Sunday morning in The Wild Duck Inn’s Riverside Suite, a brilliant venue for such an occasion. Groups from Ballycastle, Crosskeys to Belfast were in attendance early on vying for the top prize and all adding to the event with some very fine performances and set arrangements.
Déanta's Dee Tasker joins in with the Street Sessions
Again, blessed with the fine weather, street sessions continued throughout the village with many a carload of people pulling in to listen and join the celebrations of the Fleadh 2024. As night drew close, many musicians went indoors to The Village Inn, The Waterwall Bar and The Fiddler’s Rest to finish the last remaining hours of Fleadh 2024 with a few more tunes and complete Portglenone CCE’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations in style.
Kieran Convery, Harry O’Neill and Kieran Dempsey are the last men standing in The Village Inn.
Good Luck to all our Co. Antrim musicians who have qualified through to the Ulster Fleadh in Dromore in July!!