Dana to sing at Connacht Fleadh Mass in north Mayo

Eurovision legend Dana confirmed last night that she will sing at the Connacht Fleadh Mass in St. Muredach’s Cathedral, Ballina, on Sunday, July 2, at 11 a.m.

A member of the Connacht Fleadh committee, Eamonn Walsh, who is joint PRO along with Councillor John O'Hara, thanked Alan Maloney, owner of Mount Falcon Castle, for making Dana’s engagement at the event possible. Without this support, he said, it would not have been possible for the Fleadh committee to engage Dana for this prestigious event.

Following the awarding of the new Community Fleadh to Ballina last week, which will run alongside the Connacht Fleadh competitions, the joint PROs appealed to every organisation in the region to come on board and showcase their club, society, association, etc, during the week of the event, which runs from June 23 to July 2.

This is the first time in the history of Comhaltas that a Community Fleadh will be run as a pilot scheme. Ballina was chosen as a template for next year's event, which has the potential to lead to the equivalent an All-Ireland Fleadh but on a smaller scale.

For too long the county and provincial Fleadhanna he said have been confined to the competition elements, with no benefit to the local economy.

Mr. Walsh paid tribute to the Mayo County Board and Provincial Council of Comhaltas, who have made huge efforts in recent years to stage a full-scale street festival to run alongside the Fleadh competitions. Examples were seen in Swinford, Foxford and Sligo.

It is expected that both the county and provincial Fleadhanna all over Ireland will be developed into full-scale Fleadh festival events over the next two years, and it is vital that Ballina sets a precedence this year. That will decide the future of the community Fleadh.

The Fleadh in Ballina has an ambitious programme of events lined up that will be unveiled in the coming weeks. Any groups, organisations, clubs, societies and individuals wishing to be included in the programme can get in touch immediately by email to vippiper@eircom.net or by telephone to (087) 2775317.