Equality complaint lodged over Fleadh vs Pipe Band Championships clash: TUV demand Bangor's council 'be held accountable'

The party’s North Down branch says the £40,000 Irish traditional music all-dayer has been “dropped right on top of a flagship pipe band event” that was already planned for the same day, sparking what it says will be a conflict of space, attention and resources.

“This so-called Fleadh Fringe has never happened in Bangor before,” said area TUV chairman Peter Wilson. “It is not part of North Down’s established cultural calendar in the way the Ulster Pipe Band Championships are.

“The council has chosen to bankroll it despite knowing the championships are a major, long-established event with a parade through the city centre, significant visitor numbers, and a proud record of being staged in Bangor for years without trouble.

"What is happening in Bangor is an absolute disgrace, and the council must be held accountable.”

The TUV argues the Fleadh Fringe should have been run through stringent equality tests to make sure it wouldn’t impact or disadvantage on any other cultures, which they believe is a possibility due to the clash, potential restrictions on parade routes and times, plus a funding disparity with the council prepared to give twice as much cash to the folk show as the pipe championships.

Said Mr Wilson: “We have now submitted a formal complaint to the council and have demanded that an Equality Impact Assessment is carried out for this event. Equality considerations should have been addressed at the point of decision-making, not ignored and brushed aside.”

As the News Letter revealed earlier this week, current plans will see the Ulster Pipe Band Championships play second fiddle to the open-air Irish folk show, with the council to spend twice as much on a Fleadh Fringe event predicted to bring in half as many visitors as the pipe contest, 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 see around 50 bands and thousands of supporters arrive.

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.

At a council committee meeting on Thursday night, unionist politicians raised questions over the planning and funding of the Fleadh event.

They queried why a different day wasn’t chosen for the folk concert instead of having the two clash, and pointed out officials hadn’t given them a breakdown of exactly what the £40,000 would be spent on.

Despite their misgivings, the committee overwhelmingly voted to hold both events on the same day, with only one councillor objecting.