A range of media outlets are expected to ascend on Mullingar for the duration of the Fleadh to document the ongoings of the country’s largest musical gathering.
RTÉ
The National Broadcaster RTÉ has lined up some of their biggest stars for the event and are an official partner of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2022.
To mark this special ‘Homecoming’, live radio broadcasts will be coming from the town all week.
Ray D’Arcy will kick off celebrations in town with a live broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 on Tuesday, August 2.
This themed show will feature a myriad of Fleadh musicians, from all-stars, local Mullingar legends and the current world class talent.
The next specials will feature on RTÉs Raidió na Gaeltachta. On Thursday, August 4 and Friday, August 5, Binneas Béil will be presented by Neansaí Ní Choisdealbha live from the heart of Mullingar.
Also, on August 5, RTÉ Radio 1’s The John Creedon Show will join the celebrations with a live broadcast from the town. The legendary broadcaster may also be spotted filming a new TV show throughout the week, set to air later in the year.
RTÉ Radio 1’s Céilí House with Kieran
Hanrahan will be broadcasting live from the GigRig on Saturday August 6 at 9pm.
Céilí House will also be recording the All-Ireland senior Céilí Band finals on Sunday, August 7 for later transmission.
Sinéad Hussey, the new Midlands Correspondent for RTÉ, will be in town recording content for TV, rte.ie and TikTok.
Director General of RTÉ, Dee Forbes, said that the events programme is impressive. “It is great to see the return of this wonderful celebration of traditional music, culture, song and dance to Mullingar and RTÉ is delighted to be there. We are looking forward to being part of what is a unique showcase of Irish music and culture.
“Best of luck to all the competitors and performers who are coming to Mullingar from all over the world and congratulations to our partners in Fleadh Cheoil and Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann for putting together such an impressive programme this year.”
Midlands 103
Midlands 103 will broadcast daily live from Mullingar town for the duration of the Fleadh, between July 31 and August 8.
They will be launching with a four-hour special edition of Coppers and Brass with Paddy Duffy – their weekly Comhaltas fixture that’s been going since 1990.
The local station, which covers Offaly, Laois and Westmeath, has said that since July 1, the volume of overseas listeners to their station has doubled in anticipation of Fleadh Ceoil na hÉireann.
Managing Director and daytime host, Will Faulkner, has praised the efforts of the Fleadh Committee for their work so far. “For a small but committed team of volunteers, they’ve shown tremendous resilience through Covid and watched as their hard work was dashed, time and again,” he said.
“The Fleadh is finally returning to its home in Mullingar and Midlands 103 is proud to act as the definitive exchange of information and entertainment during this great occasion.”
TG4/Fleadh TV
Fleadh 2022 will be a three-day highlights show on TG4, Friday 5, Saturday 6, and Sunday, August 7 between 9.30pm and 11pm.
Hot-on-the-heels of their four-part series celebrating each of the provincial Fleadhs, TG4 are stepping things up for the ‘Homecoming’.
From well-known names to newly-crowned All-Ireland champions, audiences will be treated to three consecutive nights of live entertainment coming from the town where the very first Fleadh Cheoil was held in 1951.
The Fleadh 2022 shows will be presented by Dáithí Ó Sé, Doireann Ní Ghlacáin, Peadar Ó Goill and Maggie Carty.
Communications Editor Linda Ní Ghríofa said that the shows will be a must watch and “unmissable television”.
Ray Dolan #frommullingarinmullingar brings the Fleadh to the world!
Ray Dolan is a common sight on the streets of Mullingar with his phone camera in hand broadcasting his #frommullingarinmullingar tagline that promotes ‘all that is good and great about our town, our people and our businesses’.
Ray, son of Ben and nephew of the late great Joe Dolan, has a huge following on social media, with Facebook, YouTube, and Tik Tok being the platforms that promotes Mullingar to the world.
Ray’s passion and love for ‘his town’ of Mullingar encourages him to promote all that is good and great about the town, people and businesses and Ray will go to any lengths to showcase what the town means to him, including broadcasting his evening #bussessions for almost one thousand days in a row from various parts of Mullingar, and all over the world. Time differences and work never get in the way of Ray promoting the town as even when on holidays, he dedicatedly logs on and broadcasts live to make sure he keeps the town of Mullingar alive in everyone’s mind.
It’s no surprise that many of his followers from all over the world that tune into his Facebook page “Ray Dolan from Mullingar in Mullingar”for the #12bongs Show (at 12 noon every Monday to Friday) and the #bussessions broadcast (around 5pm daily), are diaspora. Argentina, Austria, Melbourne, Sydney, Brazil, Corfu, Florida, Novo Scotia, India, Netherlands, England, Dubai are just a few of the countries that Ray has daily followers in, not to mention ‘downtown Mullingar’ and throughout Ireland.
Speaking to Topic before going to press, Ray said “the Fleadh is a fantastic opportunity for Mullingar and all of us to show what a great town we live in and what we have on offer for people to live and work here. I am very excited to be part of being able to bring the Fleadh to the world through my daily live broadcasts”.
Ray let us know that apart from doing his own live broadcasts throughout the Fleadh dates, he is teaming up with Anna Kavanagh of Athlone Community Radio to present “Rambling at the Fleadh every day 3 to 4pm via www. athlonecommunityradio.ie/listen-live/ and on the TuneIn app.
Ray will also be working with Richie and Yohan from Wolfshire Productions, rambling through the town interviewing visitors, guests, fleadh committee members, and participants and it is hoped that much of this live footage will also go forward for documentaries later in the years to come.
Keep an eye out for Ray Dolan #frommullingarinmullingar on the streets of Mullingar during the Fleadh and do your part to bring Mullingar to the world!
