Students travel to Wexford for 2024 All Ireland Fleadh

by Center for Irish Music instructor Brian Miller

CIM students and families at the gig rig. From left: Henry Brandt, Owen Larsen, Nevellie Larson, Ellie Shirmer, Brian Miller, Teagan Crowe, Galena Shirmer, Sarah Weaver, Kaitlin Shirmer, Teddy Brandt, Erik Brandt, Collin Fenton.

The annual Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All Ireland Fleadh) was in Wexford Town in Ireland’s sunny southwest this year. Eleven current Center for Irish Music students (and a couple alums!) made the trip to Wexford (Loch Garman in Irish) the first week of August to take part in classes, competitions, sessions, concerts and general fun at the 2024 event. Eight youths and two adults attended Monday to Thursday music classes through the Fleadh’s Scoil Éigse program and six CIM students competed in the All Ireland music competitions on the weekend. I was delighted to be there as a CIM instructor.

Wexford is about 100 miles south of Dublin and the drive down (in my case, the Wexford Bus direct from Dublin Airport) passes by the beautiful Wicklow Mountains. It was my first time in Wexford, and I enjoyed being close to the ocean. The fleadh “gig rig” mainstage was set up right on the quay as were many vendor stalls so there were plentiful opportunities to take in Wexford Harbour.

This year, at the opposite end from the gig rig was a full state-fair-style midway with a giant Ferris wheel and other rides! Between that and the high density of ice cream stalls and trinket shops there was a very kid-centric, carnival atmosphere on the waterfront.

Lunch on the quay. From left: Brian Miller, Owen Larsen, Nevellie Larson, Sarah Weaver

CIM students were out every evening looking for informal sessions in local pubs, busking on the street, attending concerts and fitting in a bit of rest here and there. Wexford was lighter on pub options than other fleadh host towns with most of them clustered at one end or the other of a very narrow main street. This street was shoulder to shoulder with people for much of the weekend but, during the week, it was a wonderful place to sample various restaurants, hear the buskers and run into friends.

Father and son buskers Ben Crowe and Owen Crowe.

Teagan Crowe and Irish dance superstar (and flute player) Michael Flatley.

CIM families and buskers on a side street. From left: Galena Shirmer, James Fenton, Ruth Fenton, Simon Fenton, Ellie Shirmer, Teddy Brandt, Henry Brandt, Collin Fenton.

Most of the families arrived by Sunday night and some found a session at the tiny, but very lively, Mary’s Bar on the north end of town. On Monday, a group of CIM folks had a great time at a hurling match in some light Irish rain (even in the sunny southeast!) before heading into town for more late night sessions. A group from the Murphy Roche School of Irish Music (Chicago) invited CIM’s Morien McBurnie up to perform on the gig rig on Tuesday night so we all came out for that. Wednesday, I had some music friends from Cork and Wexford in town and I got to do an afternoon gig with some of them on one of the pub stages. Thursday some of the CIM musicians were back at the hurling pitch, this time to break the world record for “most tin whistles played at the same time” which they pulled off with an impressive 2,516 whistlers! (Did you know that the Guiness Book of World Records is named for that Guinness? It was started in the 1950s by Sir Hugh Beaver, managing director of Guinness Breweries at the time.)

Morien McBurnie (far right) on stage with musicians from Chicago’s Murphy Roche School of Irish Music.

2500+ tin whistle players streaming into Chadwicks Wexford Park Stadium enroute to the Guinness Book of World Records.

The All Ireland Fleadh from Sunday through Thursday is a different animal than what happens when the competitions are on from Friday to Sunday. The crowds in the city center and pubs increase drastically and busking and sessioning become matters of timing and strategy.

The competitions themselves are spread out over a dozen venues all around town. Wexford’s competition venues were mercifully closer together than in some years but there was still plenty of hurried walking and frenetic energy all around. This year, most CIM competitions were clustered within a 4 hour span on the Friday afternoon.

CIM Student Competitors:

Friday:

U15 Banjo: Collin Fenton
U18 Banjo: Morien McBurnie
U15 Bodhrán: Teddy Brandt
U15 Button Accordion: Teddy Brandt
U15 Flute: Ellie Shirmer
U15 Mandolin: Collin Fenton
U15 Whistle: Ellie Shirmer

Saturday:

U18 Banjo: Henry Brandt
U18 Whistle: Nevellie Larson

Brian listening to Henry and Teddy Brandt rehearsing for Teddy’s bodhrán competition.

Lunchtime on the Friday was spent doing some last minute rehearsing under the trees near the Scoil Éigse building after classes let out for the week. CIM student competitors put an incredible amount of work into their tunes for the competitions and they all played beautifully under some intense pressure. Henry Brandt lent a hand by playing banjo for brother Teddy in the bodhrán accompaniment room (thanks Henry!). From Friday through Saturday, CIM students and families followed the Minnesota competitors around to the various venues and cheered on the musicians. Some of us made it out to a great concert featuring Irish-American banjo player Seamus Egan on Friday night—a nice treat after a very hectic afternoon!

See if you can find CIM students Henry Brandt and Owen Larsen in this one!

The older contingent of CIM young people showed themselves to be seasoned veterans of fleadh session-seeking, especially by the weekend. With seats hard to come by on Saturday night, I was impressed to find a few of the older kids in a big session with some Irish kids at one of the hotels. Just as I was texting other parents about how well our kids were fitting in, the three Minnesota kids packed up to leave telling me “Ah this is just another one of those fleadh sessions where the kids are playing the tunes they learned for the group competitions over and over again. We’re going looking for something better.” They’d become connoisseurs.

Musicians Arjun Ramachadran, Nevellie Larson and Collin Fenton share a tune.

Musical friendships are at the heart of Irish music culture and the All Ireland Fleadh is always a good chance to reconnect people from sessions past. We had a visit from the Flagstad family on the weekend and connected with others that have been part of CIM’s programming including Brianna Brown, Antonio Jasiczek and Arjun Ramachadran.

With no CIM people competing on Sunday, some of us found a quiet spot on the rooftop patio of McGee’s (my personal favorite session pub) for some afternoon tunes. It was a treat to play a few with former CIM students Moira Flagstad and Arjun Ramachadran while winding down from a busy, fun week. A few CIM people took advantage of the lighter crowds on Sunday to fit in a ride on the Ferris wheel as well!

The Flagstads and Shirmers were remembering dear friend and CIM dad Frank Pasquerella while having a meal at Frank’s Place on Main Street. From left: Moira Flagstad, Emily Flagstad, Ellie Shirmer, Kaitlin Shirmer, Galena Shirmer, Brian Flagstad.

Morien McBurnie picked a dramatic spot for his pre-competition practice.

The Fleadh is back in Wexford town in 2025. Get in touch if you plan to go and want any insider tips about getting around there. I thought it was a great place for the event. Huge thanks to all the CIM parents, siblings and students that put in so much effort to the 2024 trip and made it so enjoyable for all.

A faint rainbow on the last day of the 2024 Fleadh lined up perfectly with the harp sculpture that was put up in Wexford Harbour for the week.

Students travel to Wexford for 2024 All Ireland Fleadh

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