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Tara McNeill, 12, playing the fiddle with the Glengormley School of Music outside Madden’s Bar at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann Alamy
Belfast Fleadh
‘Glimpse of a different Belfast’: After Fleadh party, calls for pedestrianisation for vibrant city
‘People now know what it can be, they won’t accept less.’
AFTER A WEEK of music, culture and dance, the first ever Fleadh has come to an end in Belfast.
It’s understood that around a million visitors came to Belfast for Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, which started on 2 August and ended last night (though it technically ran into Monday morning).
12.30am Monday. The #Fleadh in Belfast isn’t over yet … and thousands don’t want it to end. pic.twitter.com/QBhObpVaxO
— Mark Simpson (@BBCMarkSimpson) August 9, 2026
Over 1,300 volunteers, ranging from teenagers to pensioners, dressed in distinctive yellow bucket hats and T-shirts, to offer brochures and a welcoming smile to tourists.
One of these volunteers, Davy Taylor who travelled from Co Derry, remarked that “it would bring a tear to your eye, the vibrancy in the city”.
“Some of the older people have been telling me they remember Belfast when it was so dark, and this is so joyful.”
And while organisers have vowed that the Fleadh will return to Belfast even “bigger and better” next year, there are calls to ensure that some of this joy remains permanently.
‘A glimpse of a different Belfast’
Many people packed into the ‘Electric Light Station’ for the Fleadh.
It’s a former industrial warehouse on Chapel Lane that was transformed into a unique home for music and cultural events during the Fleadh.
Popular Belfast bar Lavery’s was the team behind the pop-up venue that brought the late-19th century building back into life for one week only.
In a post to social media, the Electric Light Station said that “from packed rooms to spontaneous sessions, Belfast has been absolutely alive with music”.
For one week, we got a glimpse of a different Belfast.
“Streets given back to people. Empty spaces brought back to life. Music spilling out of doorways. Entertainment on every corner. People sitting, talking, dancing and moving through a city centre that felt genuinely alive.”
The pop-up venue remarked that the Fleadh “showed what can happen when we think differently about how our city is used”.
When we make space for music, culture, hospitality and, most importantly, people.
“A building constructed more than 130 years ago to help bring electricity to Belfast, sitting largely dormant for years, had its shutters lifted once again.
“This week, thousands of people walked through its doors and filled it with a different kind of energy.
“For one brief week, an extraordinary piece of Belfast’s history was alive again.”
The venue expressed hope that “a little of what the Fleadh brought with it stays behind”.
“We’ve seen what Belfast can be. Let’s not forget it.”
‘People know what it can be, they won’t accept less’
Elsewhere, SDLP leader Claire Hanna remarked that “many Belfast residents have had to pinch themselves this week”.
“Music has been enjoyed in every nook and cranny, with derelict buildings coming alive and an electric atmosphere created.
It has been a special week, with a new, shared optimism about the future.
“Belfast is a city capable of hosting international cultural events with confidence, warmth and ambition. The opportunity is now to build on this success.”
One of these opportunities that many have spoken on is greater pedestrianisation.
Much of the city centre was closed to traffic, something praised by Fleadh revellers.
The SDLP’s Belfast City Council group leader Séamas de Faoite said the Fleadh “provided a proof of concept for how we can do things differently in our city centre”.
“We have seen what greater pedestrianisation can look like, how public transport can play a bigger role in moving large numbers of people around the city and the difference a more flexible licensing regime can make.
“The success of the Fleadh demonstrates the enormous potential of Belfast as a tourist and cultural destination – potential that we still have not fully realised.”
He said the SDLP “will be pushing these issues so that the lessons of this week translate into lasting improvements for our city”.
He added that “many of the changes Belfast needs also require action from Stormont” and that “we cannot allow outdated legislation or political inertia to become an obstacle to Belfast fulfilling its potential”.
Representatives from the Alliance Party have also written to the council and other bodies calling for a “comprehensive review of pedestrianisation” in the city centre.
Meanwhile, de Faoite is hoping that three’s a charm for Belfast and says the city can host the Fleadh three years running.
“The Fleadh is set to return in 2027, and with 30 years of the Good Friday Agreement in 2028, we will be making the case for hosting the event for a third year to mark this important anniversary in a positive and inclusive way.”
Elsewhere, party colleague Matthew O’Toole remarked that he’s “just about old enough remember the notorious ‘ring of steel’ in Belfast city centre”.
To see it become itself this week, a European city exploding with culture, is joyful.
“People now know what it can be, they won’t accept less.”
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