Fleadh vs Pipe Band Championship clash approved, despite questions over why different day wasn't chosen and why twice as much spent on 'fringe' folk show for half as many people
Clashing events putting Ulster’s annual Pipe Band Championships head-to-head with an Fleadh-related open-air gig just minutes away have been waved through with just a single objection, despite questions over the planning and funding for the Irish folk show.
Unionist councillors queried why Bangor is to spend twice as much on a ‘Fleadh Fringe’ folk concert compared to one of the biggest events on Northern Ireland’s pipe calendar, when it’s projected to bring in around half as many visitors as the band contest usually does.
They also questioned why a different day wasn’t chosen for the folk concert instead of having the two clash, pointing out that officials hadn’t given them a breakdown of how £40,000 for the Fleadh Fringe would be spent.
Despite misgivings from the unionist side, an Ards and North Down Council committee overwhelmingly voted to hold both events on the same day.
As the News Letter exclusively revealed earlier this week, current plans will see the Ulster Pipe Band Championships play second fiddle to the Irish folk show, with twice as much to be spent on the Fleadh Fringe event while band parade routes or times through the Co Down city could be restricted.
The clashing events are both to happen in the heart of Bangor on August 1, with the 73rd annual pipe band championships set to bring around 50 bands and thousands of supporters.
From August 2 to August 9, the all-Ireland Fleadh is being staged in Belfast – but the day before it begins a ‘Fleadh Fringe’ concert is planned for Bangor, predicted to be attended by up to 5,000 people over its 1pm to 9pm duration. The two will both last all afternoon, and be just a few minutes’ walk from each other.
Pipe Band organisers have asked for £20,000 from the council to help cover their costs, but local authority officials want to spend £40,000 on the folk show.
During a committee meeting last night, a council official said Fleadh Fringe organisers had stated August 1 “was the appropriate date to do it, because participants and spectators would be coming in to get settled to start their competitions” in Belfast the following day. The pipe band championships were already listed for that date, added the official, resulting in “discussions” with contest organisers.
DUP councillor Jennifer Gilmour pointed out the championships usually bring a 10,000-strong crowd, twice as much as the Fleadh event; she queried whether the council had looked at other dates for the folk show, such as the day before, but didn’t get an answer to that question.
“We’re bringing this event out of nowhere with a £40,000 budget that we haven’t got a breakdown for, when other groups in the borough would love a slice [of council funding] for established programmes,” she added. “I know that will not sit comfortably.”
Staging both events on the same day was voted through by almost every councillor, however, with only the DUP’s Colin Kennedy objecting. Alliance politicians spoke in favour of the move, some singling out the Fleadh Fringe gig for extensive praise.
During the meeting an official publicly attacked the News Letter’s coverage of the clash, complaining it wasn’t the “tone” the council wanted to project and griping it brought in “political context”, though did not take issue with its facts.