Fleadh Cheol 2010 and ticket sellers / charity collectors

MPB

I have been attending Fleadh Cheoils for many years now and have alwyas taken the week off specifically for it. I had been looking forward to this years fleadh but was majorly disappointed. Let me clarify at first before anyone takes this the wrong way. I have no problem with ticket sellers and charity collectors. The Fleadh this year was taken over by people collecting for various charities to the point that the public were harrassed to support them. There must have been 100 such collectors if there was one. Every side you turned there was someone collecting witha bucket. This was something I had not seen at previous Fleadhs and having someone constantly asking you to support the charity in question wore thin with me as the day went on. As I said I dont have a problem with anyone collecting for charuty but I just felt the numbers collecting this year brought the tone down and that people felt harrassed. I know I certainly did. I just wondered did others have the same experience as I did?

nuttz

There was a lot of them alright, here is a list of the issues I had with the Fleadh this year.
Don't get me wrong Martin Donohue did a great job and he really left his mark on the Fleadh this year and there was obviously a lot of effort by the volunteers.
My main issues were:

• Amplified musicians on the streets.
• Pubs not participating in the spirit of the Fleadh at the height of the weekend, (an Sibin playing indy music and the nightclub behind the Farnham Arms blaring out dance music)
• Musicians collecting money, busking.
• Charities collecting money.
• Few (or just unused) bins on the streets for rubbish, (the streets were dangerous to walk around midnight because of the accumulation of rubbish)
• Too few pubs for sessions.
• The location for the gig rig was too small (Egg market)
• The gig rig being cancelled on the Sunday night
• Equestrian center camp site was too far away,
• People at the camp site who never seem to leave it and just drink there(I had my tent flattened on the Friday, and then others tried to steal it on the Sunday)
• Competition venues too far away from the town.
• Profiteering by the bus drivers, tickets had €2 return printed on them, yet they charged €3, then said they had no tickets on the Saturday and charged everyone €2 for single journeys.
• Profiteering by food vendors and pubs.
• Lack of sessions in the pubs.

Good points were:

• Good music in the competitions
• There was a good line up in the Fleadh club, i.e. Beoga, At First Light, Lunasa

I don't usually complain that much really

MPB

nuttz wrote: »

There was a lot of them alright, here is a list of the issues I had with the Fleadh this year.
Don't get me wrong Martin Donohue did a great job and he really left his mark on the Fleadh this year and there was obviously a lot of effort by the volunteers.

My main issues were:

• Amplified musicians on the streets.
• Pubs not participating in the spirit of the Fleadh at the height of the weekend, (an Sibin playing indy music and the nightclub behind the Farnham Arms blaring out dance music)
• Musicians collecting money, busking.
• Charities collecting money.
• Few (or just unused) bins on the streets for rubbish, (the streets were dangerous to walk around midnight because of the accumulation of rubbish)
• Too few pubs for sessions.
• The location for the gig rig was too small (Egg market)
• The gig rig being cancelled on the Sunday night
• Equestrian center camp site was too far away,
• People at the camp site who never seem to leave it and just drink there(I had my tent flattened on the Friday, and then others tried to steal it on the Sunday)
• Competition venues too far away from the town.
• Profiteering by the bus drivers, tickets had €2 return printed on them, yet they charged €3, then said they had no tickets on the Saturday and charged everyone €2 for single journeys.
• Profiteering by food vendors and pubs.
• Lack of sessions in the pubs.

Good points were:

• Good music in the competitions
• There was a good line up in the Fleadh club, i.e. Beoga, At First Light, Lunasa

I don't usually complain that much really

I think I would agree with most of what you have said there. A few things I didnt notice and one being the lack of sessions in the pubs but I wasnt in many and when I wasnt drinking as I had to drive back that night I more or less kept out from them. If something caught my ear as I passed the door I went in. Other than that I didnt bother them. Again didnt bother with the campsite as wasnt staying but I heard the prices being charrged were on the expensive side. Parking I thought was pretty badly organised. Cops were anything but helpful. I met one or 2 ignorant ones when trying to get parked. Situation was more or less like having a dog but having to do the barking yourself.
They had a hard act to follow after Tullamore the last 3 years but they have a lot of things to improve on if they want it back. I wouldnt be in favor of it as a venue.

Futurecrook

nuttz wrote: »

There was a lot of them alright, here is a list of the issues I had with the Fleadh this year.
Don't get me wrong Martin Donohue did a great job and he really left his mark on the Fleadh this year and there was obviously a lot of effort by the volunteers.
My main issues were:

• Pubs not participating in the spirit of the Fleadh at the height of the weekend, (an Sibin playing indy music and the nightclub behind the Farnham Arms blaring out dance music)
• Equestrian center camp site was too far away,
• People at the camp site who never seem to leave it and just drink there(I had my tent flattened on the Friday, and then others tried to steal it on the Sunday)

In fairness to the Farnham they were very generous to musicians playing in the hotel/bar. They were giving out drink vouchers and sandwiches to anyone playing there.

I was staying in the equestrian centre too and half the people there didn't even know what the fleadh was. One girl saw my blue entrance band for the competitions and asked me what it was for. When I told her I'd been at the competitions her answer was actually "what competitions?". Why was she even at the fleadh?

I'm really hoping it wasn't your tent that I saw get flattened. The lads behind us got hammered one night and one of the guys in particular was particularly destructive. He destroyed a tent nearby and stole half the pegs from my own tent. Also burned a hole in it with a cigarette. I was not impressed. Went down and got the security guys who got the gardai to monitor our area all night, but it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

Another guy from that group also pissed in someone elses tent. It was disgusting. I had a great time at the fleadh, it probably would have been better without all the drunken idiots though.

fh041205

Jesus lads, I'm glad I didn't go now. Sounds like a total disaster....

MPB

fh041205 wrote: »

Jesus lads, I'm glad I didn't go now. Sounds like a total disaster....

Ah wouldnt go so far as to say a total disaster. I did see a lot of drunk people early in the day on the friday and a lot of them were middle-aged and older which was kinda sad to see. No harm in taking a drink and all that but to be falling around the place early in the afternoon didnt fit with the Fleadh from previous experience. There was some great quality sessions along the street on the gig rig etc and yuo cant take that from it.

It seems to be attracting a new crowd though and they use it as an excuse for getting locked and have little or no interest in the music. Any excuse for a session.

fh041205

MPB wrote: »

It seems to be attracting a new crowd though and they use it as an excuse for getting locked and have little or no interest in the music. Any excuse for a session.

I was afraid of that actually. A lot of people with no interest in the music whatsoever. Miltown on the Thurs night was like that.

McConnon

fh041205 wrote: »

I was afraid of that actually. A lot of people with no interest in the music whatsoever. Miltown on the Thurs night was like that.

MPB wrote: »

It seems to be attracting a new crowd though and they use it as an excuse for getting locked and have little or no interest in the music. Any excuse for a session.

Yup, I know a group of lads who went just for a mighty session.. the liquid form that is

Couldn't make it this year myself but heard the same things that you guys have brought up!

Dancing Sets

Ah now the fleadh wasn't all that bad!
There appeared to be a bigger crowd this year and crowd control seemed to be a problem at times.
The stage should have been at the end of that long street and not tucked away in a corner which meant people were squeezing into a small space to see the acts.
The cost of food and drink (where it could be got) was inflated.
The shuttle bus drivers did their best to help but where venues are spread out over a wide area shuttle buses should be free.
Young (and not so young) people drinking and ruining it for others is a problem at all events, Sadly.
The competitions were brilliant and well organised. Well done to all the winners.
The ticket for the weekend was a reat idea but it must cover all events.
Overall it was a great weekend.