Shock as fleadh organisers reveal they still haven't received council's €400k - and businesses slow to help out with costs

Just two weeks out from the opening weekend of Fleadh Ceoil na hÉireann, the chief organizer of the event has disclosed that grant monies promised by Westmeath County Council have still not been paid over, and that publicans, chippers and restaurants have let the event down badly in terms of sponsorship.

Joe Connaire, chairman of the Fleadh committee, addressing members of Westmeath County Council yesterday (July 24), also spoke of price-gouging by the accommodation sector, citing the case of a six-bedroom house in town that has been offered as accommodation for the fleadh at a rate of €7,200 for a week.

Mr Connaire said that the cost of running the fleadh last year came to €1.7m, and by this time last year, the committee had received the money committed to it by the council.

This year, however, they are still awaiting payment of the promised grant of €400,000.

Councillors were shocked that the budgeted fund had not yet been paid over, with Cllr Denis Leonard demanding that it be paid over that very day, but rowing in later behind the proposal of Cllr Paul Hogan that it be paid over no later than this evening (Tuesday), July 25.

At the end of the meeting, chief executive Pat Gallagher gave an undertaking to expedite the hand-over of the money.

Disappointed

Mr Connaire revealed that the committee has been disappointed at the difficulty in securing sponsorship from publicans, chippers and restaurants.

“Those who gained the most out of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann gave the least,” he said.

“Basically the attitude this year was: sure the fleadh is coming anyway: why do we have to?

“Several restaurants and chippers in the town who made an absolute fortune last year gave us nothing and I'm not afraid to say it.

“Their tills will be ringing from one end of the week to the next and they’ll clean up.

“It’s disgusting that you go into a shop or a restaurant or a chipper that has made big sums of money and they say ‘aah no: sure the fleadh is coming anyway’.

“Those who made the most should have been putting their hands in their pockets but we've tried and it wasn't successful.

“Look at the vintners: we're dealing with them as a collective group. So again, there's been tough talking with them. You know, it's been a hard slog. It's not plain sailing and please God they will support us in the way they said they would but again there is no money in the account as of today.

“But that's a hard conversation I will have to have by the end of this week.”

In general, it had been a slog to obtain sponsorship he revealed: “Any company that supported us last year, that, gave us €10,000: they gave us €1,000 this year. Some of them gave us nothing.”

He said the organisers had always been clear with Comhaltas HQ that they would spend what they had, but not more And he stressed that they were very grateful to their sponsors particularly the North Midlands Credit Union.

“We gave a commitment in 2022 when you as members provided a grant of €400,000 to assist us in the funding of the fleadh that we would be prudent and tight-fisted in our expenditure and that we would not tolerate overruns or deficits, and we more than achieved this objective.

“We did not have to come back to you as members looking for any more money in ‘22. And we are extremely grateful for your €400,000 grant to help us achieve that objective.”

However, he hoped the money would be handed over soon.

Work

Mr Connaire gave a detailed explanation of the work that has gone in to organising this year’s fleadh, and said that he and the team have gone all out to keep costs to a minimum.

“As you're aware, last year's event was a resounding success when measured by any yardstick and we are confident that the forthcoming Fleadh will be even bigger and better.

“€50-€60m was brought into the economy last year and I reckon more this year because we're expecting a 10 to 15% increase in the numbers this year.

Mr Connaire said the fleadh had brought ongoing benefit to local tourism and that the local hotels had been operating almost at capacity consistently since the event

“We have put in 1000s of hours again this year since last August organizing events for this year - sometimes attending five plus meetings a week - as volunteers, and I stress the word ‘volunteers’,” he said.

Reacted

Council cathaoirleach, Liam McDaniel said the work done by the committee was to their credit, while Cllr Mick Dollard stated that Westmeath County Council's €400,000 allocation represented just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what the council was actually contributing to the event. He pointed out that a lot of the council’s outdoor and indoor staff also were providing invaluable assistance.

Cllr Dollard went on to criticize businesses who benefit from the fleadh but who refused to put their hands in their pockets to help fund it.

Cllr Ken Glynn was surprised that the council’s allocation had not been paid over and he urged businesses to contribute. Cllr Denis Leonard was also surprised and said it should be paid over immediately.

He said those who benefited most from the event should pay the most for it and stated that most businesses in town do not actually benefit to any great extent, but others such as pubs and restaurants do extremely well.

“But by far, the people who benefit the most from this fleadh cheoil, aside from the people of Westmeath, is Westmeath County Council,” he stated.

Cllr Frankie Keena felt that businesses that last year did well out of the event should have “come up trumps” for the committee this year.

Cllr Keena was also interested in Seeing what was the overall value of the council's contribution given the amount of staff time dedicated to the event. Cllr Tom Farrell said the fleadh had awakened interest in Athlone, and he hoped that Athlone would apply in the future to host the event.

Cllr Paul Hogan said it was evident that the committee had been very prudent in its management of its money and he was surprised to learn the council’s contribution was still outstanding: “I think it's bizarre that we are two weeks out from the fleadh and an allocation that has been passed since last year in terms of our budget hasn't been paid, or hasn't been granted to the fleadh committee.

“It cannot happen without this money being paid over. So I cannot fathom why it hasn't been,” he said as he urged that the money be paid the next day.

Cllr Frank McDermott was “bitterly disappointed” that the money had not been paid over and said he wanted the executive to do what they had been instructed by the members to do.

CLlr Johnnie Penrose praised the council’s outdoor staff and the fleadh volunteers and Joe Connaire in particular.