This week, I received a flurry of emails from Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann’s Mid-Atlantic Region packed with exciting details about the 2025 Mid-Atlantic Fleadh! This year, the event will take place from April 25-27 at the Crowne Plaza Princeton in Princeton, N.J., featuring a wide array of competitions, sessions, the Hall of Fame Banquet, and much more.
As a celebration of traditional Irish music, dance, song and the Irish language, the Mid-Atlantic Fleadh is one of the two premier qualifying traditional music competitions in North America. (The other, the Midwest Fleadh, will occur in Chicago the same weekend—check out https://www.midwestfleadh.org/ for more details.) Hundreds of young competitors from the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Southern U.S., and Canada East regions will compete individually or in groups, often across multiple categories, all vying for the chance to travel to Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Ireland. There, they’ll compete for the prestigious title of "All-Ireland Champion" in their age group. (This year, the All-Ireland will run from August 3-10 in Wexford; visit here for more information.)
The Mid-Atlantic Fleadh promises a fantastic weekend filled with events that always seem to pass by too quickly. This year’s Hall of Fame inductees—Martin Reilly, Kathleen & Dom Lavin and the late Frank Curran—are an illustrious group, and their recognition is well-deserved. It’s shaping up to be an incredible weekend with something for everyone. If you plan to attend, note that a block of rooms has been reserved at a special CCÉ rate, so act fast to book before they’re gone! Once again, this year the road to Wexford starts in Princeton, NJ! For more details on registration, weekend events, and accommodations at the reduced rate, visit here.
Registration is also open for the 2025 Comhaltas North America Convention, which will take place from April 3-6 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla. This convention brings together officers from all of Comhaltas’s provinces to discuss organizational matters, but it’s also a vibrant festival with workshops and ceilithe that promises the "Comhaltas cultural experience." The John Whelan All-Star Céilí Band will headline the event, and a stellar roster of instructors and performers—including Dave Curley, Dawn Doherty, Dylan Foley, Matt Mulqueen, Larry Nugent, Jesse Winch, and many more—will also be featured. For more information, visit here.
In related news, the wonderful Rose Flanagan, whose students have found success in Comhaltas competitions over the years, has been named one of this year’s recipients of the Féile Oriel “Elders of Fiddling” award! This is a well-earned honor, as Rose is a superb musician and one of the brightest stars in the world of traditional music in the United States.
Founded in 1969, the Féile Oriel was Ireland’s first modern fiddle competition and has long been dedicated to recognizing fiddlers of exceptional merit. Past awardees include legends like Kathleen Collins (Galway/New York, 1969), Tommy Peoples (Donegal, 1970), Gerry O'Conner (Dundalk, multiple times in the 1970s and '80s), Tony Linnane (Clare, 1981), and David Doocey (Mayo, 2009). The announcement of year’s Fiddler of Oriel will happen at the end of March.
But in 2023, Féile Oriel introduced the “Elders of Fiddling” award, which honors six fiddlers of remarkable achievement, one from each of Ireland’s provinces, the UK, and the U.S.. Since then, the list of recipients has included luminaries such as Jim McKillop & Eithne Vallely (Ulster), James Cullinan (Munster), Antóin MacGabhann (Leinster), Charlie Lennon (Connacht), Brian Conway, (USA), Seamus Connolly (USA) and many more.
This year’s class of awardees is similarly noteworthy, with a list of recipients that includes Connie O'Connell (Munster), Sean Montgomery (Leinster), Dinny Leonard (Ulster), Shelia O'Dowd (Connacht), Brian Rooney (UK), and of course, Rose Flanagan herself. A hearty congratulations to all for this well-deserved recognition! The Féile Oriel ceremony will take place in Monaghan from May 2-4. For further details, visit the Féile Oriel website here.
Finally, it is with great sadness that I report the passing of Jim Holloran from St. Louis. A respected attorney by trade, Jim was better known in the Irish music world as the founder and longtime owner of John D. McGurk’s Irish Pub. Established in 1978, McGurk’s has been one of the most important venues in the country for Irish music over the past 45 years.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Jim attended St. Louis University for both college and law school. In the 1970s, he became enamored with the idea of owning an Irish pub, and when he found one for sale in the Soulard neighborhood—a once-declining area—he seized the opportunity. He named the pub after the song “The Irish Rover,” and thus began McGurk’s legacy.
From the start, Jim was committed to making live Irish music a key part of McGurk’s identity. His vision took off after a trip to Boston’s Dubliner Pub in the early 1980s, where he learned of Irish musicians looking for places to perform between engagements. He invited them to McGurk’s, and the pub’s reputation as a stop for touring musicians grew rapidly. In time, Jim even purchased a nearby house to accommodate traveling musicians for long-term stays.
McGurk’s has hosted virtually every notable musician in the Irish traditional scene over the years, and the pub has played an integral role in the revitalization of the Soulard neighborhood. Jim’s contributions to Irish music in the U.S. are immeasurable, and he will be sorely missed by many. When in St. Louis, make sure to visit McGurk’s—where the music, food, and pints remain top-notch. For more information, visit here.
