Athboy and Ráth Chairn to fly the Leinster Fleadh in 2019

Athboy and Ráth Chairn are to host next year’s Leinster Fleadh which takes place from 8th to 16th July, with the festival expected to attract up to 30,000 visitors to the area.
The official launch took place last week at Buvinda House and was attended by Meath County Council Cathaoirleach Tom Kelly, Chief Executive Jackie Maguire, Assumpta Brady chair of Leinster Comhaltas and Labhrás O Murchu, director general of CCE as well as Fleadh ambassador Blathnaid Ni Chofaigh. Chairperson of the organising committee, Pearse Ferguson was unable to attend due to a bereavement and Cllr David Gilroy, PRO stepped in.

It is Meath Comhaltas’ turn to host the Leinster finals of the competition in 2019 and the proposal put forward for Athboy and Ráth Chairn has been worked on for over six months.
Cllr Gilroy, who is also chair of Meath Tourism, said one of the main reasons Athboy was chosen was the very strong community and strong comhaltas there.
“We have very ambitious plans for the Fleadh itself. A large element of it will be inclusion of people with additional needs and there will be workshops for people of all abilities.” 
He added there would also be an emphasis on the environment and a mental health element.
There will be free open air concerts with well known local and national musicians and there will be a publication launched on the history of music in Meath in conjunction with the Meath Library Services.
It is estimated that the Leinster Fleadh will bring between 20,000 and 30,000 people to the area and Cllr Gilroy said it will be a huge boost for the whole county.