Fleadh book a beautiful document for Mullingar

To say Noel McIntyre’s recently published book Rí Rá Mullingar – A Fleadh Cheoil Chronicle was a labour of love is a bit of understatement.

An award-winning filmmaker and photographer, Noel says that he felt “compelled” to document the return of the largest traditional music festival in the world to his hometown after a gap of almost seven decades; however, he didn’t realise that he would end up taking 8,000 images and publishing a book of the best ones.

“I immersed myself in it for two years and was really in the zone,” said Noel. “I took to the streets with no notion of writing a book – I was just looking for what I call ‘the magic’ – intimate moments amidst the cacophony of Fleadh Cheoil.

“I took notes of my thoughts and impressions as I worked, which provide the narrative for the images in the book. As the volume of work grew, I knew I had something special, and the idea of the book was born. I published Rí Rá Mullingar: A Fleadh Cheoil Chronicle with the aim of bringing the reader back to the moment and into the scene, so that they can almost hear the music that rang through the town, and experience the same magical energy which I felt in person.”

As soon as this year’s event ended, he spent a frenetic couple of weeks whittling the number of photos down to the 112 that appear in the book.

They are a mixture of black and white portraits and colour shots that capture the magic generated by the hundreds of thousands of trad fans and musicians who were in Mullingar last year and this.

Images of a number of well known local faces made the cut, including Fr Phil Gaffney, Fleadh Executive Committee chair Joe Connaire, and banjo player Kevin Kennedy.

Noel says he is thrilled with the end product, which was printed in Italy, and which will stand the test of time as a social document that captures a golden chapter in the modern history of his hometown.

“I am very proud of it. It will outlive me. I am really proud of the imagery and I think it will be a piece of history for the town. I think it is a beautiful document for Mullingar.”

Rí Rá Mullingar – A Fleadh Cheoil Chronicle is available in Just Books.