Arts/Entertainment

Yet last weekend was one of the most politically significant of my lifetime.  Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann was held in Belfast. This is a festival of Irish music, dance and culture. The Fleadh is centred around competitions and draws Irish musicians and dancers from across Ireland and internationally. Outside of competitions, there are gigs, impromptu music sessions, and classes.

Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2026 has drawn to a close in Belfast following an extraordinary week of traditional Irish music, song and dance, with more than one million people visiting the city over the duration of the Fleadh. More than 5,000 competitors from 25 countries travelled to Belfast to compete for coveted All-Ireland titles across music, dancing and sean nós singing, bringing together some of the finest emerging and established traditional performers from Ireland and around the world. Hosted in Belfast for the first time by Belfast City Council, in partnership with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ) and Ards CCÉ, the Fleadh saw the city transformed into

A bear walks into a bar... The bartender is extremely busy and looks tired. He eventually makes his way over to the bear. The bear immediately tells him,

Irish Fest 2026 will feature music and dance stages as well as a Performing Arts stage and the Leprechaun Tent with kid-friendly activities and entertainment. The Cultúr & Céilí Tent returns with Irish language workshops, Celtic knotwork demonstrations, history workshops and

Later that night, Kneecap headlined the festival. They rap in Irish and English, telling the stories of their generation over hip-hop and rave beats. Their energy is infectious, and their message is uncompromising, opposing the genocide in Gaza, sectarianism and racism. They are proudly Irish Republican and drew the biggest crowd of the weekend. Twenty thousand leaping around, doing untold damage to their knees ...