Fleadh Cheoil na hÉire, the World’s Biggest Irish Music Gathering, Takes Place in Wexford, Ireland, August 3-10

The world’s biggest Irish traditional music gathering is taking place in the Town of Wexford in Ireland on August 3-10 in Wexford Town.

The annual Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (Festival of Irish Music) was launched in the 1950s to preserve Irish traditional music, dance, singing, recitation and the spoken Irish language. This year an estimated 700,000 people are expected to attend, according to town officials.

Ireland’s President Michael D. Higgins officially opens the 2025 Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireannon Sunday, August 3, In what will be one of his last public duties before he retires from office later this year.

The formal part of the annual Fleadh are the competitions, wherein musicians, dancers, singers and storytellers from around the world vye to see who is best at their craft. Some 180 competitions take place from August 7-9, with more than 40,000 competitors. These individual and ensemble competitions are organized by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ), the nation’s foremost organization for preserving and celebrating Ireland’s ancient music, song and dance.

But the main attractions throughout the week are the hundreds of live performances on outdoor stages and in concert halls, churches and cultural venues, plus the endless music sessions in the streets, cafes, pubs and hotel lobbies that go well into the night and next morning.

At the 2024 Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, also held in Wexford, participants broke the Guinness World Record for the largest group playing tin whistles together over a 5-minute period, with 2,516 musicians performing at once. This year, organizers hope to break that record.

The Fleadh Cheoil na hÉire is a sounding board for the global Irish Diaspora, with visitors coming from as far as Argentina and Australia and of course from Canada and the United States. Many are here to compete in the competitions, while others are here to soak in the incredible atmosphere, craic, and quality of music.

New Englanders have strong connections to the Fleadh, with numerous local musi­cians winning coveted competitions over the years. Locally, the Boston branch of CCÉ has an excellent musical education program, called the Boston CCÉ Music School, that teaches Irish traditional music to children and adults alike.

Wexford Town has ancient connections going back to the Vikings who settled here in the 9th century. Today it is a bastion of culture and heritage, and hosts numerous events each year such as the Wexford Opera Festival. The Saltee Islands in Co. Wexford is the most famous bird sanctuary in Ireland and popular with day trippers and veteran birdwatchers.

And finally, several historic figures have come from Wexford, including Commodore John Barry, Father of the American Navy, and the ancestors of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, who came to Boston in 1848 to escape the Irish Famine.  In 1956, then U.S Senator Kennedy laid a wreath at the unveiling of the John Barry statue in Wexford Town.