My Fleadh: Ciara Blundell, Westmeath and St Loman’s Mullingar

How was your fleadh, were you busy?

I had wonderful fleadh experience. I’m a school teacher so I am off for the summer and I got to fully immerse myself into the Irish music culture. We did plenty of walking around the first few days, listening to all the music, enjoying the nice food and catching up with plenty of people you mightn’t have seen in a while.

Did you get time to enjoy the music, and the different sights and sounds?

The fleadh has such a good atmosphere all week round I think it’s hard not to enjoy it. We had the second round of championship on the Thursday of it, so the start of the week was a lot quieter for us, but I was still in town every day listening to the talented musicians and enjoying the fun.

After Thursday we got to fully immerse into the festival and enjoy ourselves – which I think I did a good job at.

How would you compare this year's fleadh to 2022?

In 2022, I was over visiting my sister in Australia and didn’t come home until the Wednesday so missed the first half. I definitely thought this year was much busier than last. The talent around was much better as well. There were more performers on the street also. We probably had better weather last year but I don’t think anyone let that dampen their spirits.

What are your standout memories from the fleadh?

My favourite moment of the week was bringing my 90-year-old grandmother into town to see what it was all about. Three of her grandchildren and one great grandchild were home from overseas, so who was around met up for lunch and after went for a stroll to see the musicians. She sat outside Daly’s pub and took it all in, loving every minute of it. While bringing her back home, she told me she’d had the best day she’d had in a long time.