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President Catherine Connolly pictured enjoying the Belfast Fleadh yesterday Danni Simpson/Instagram
Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann
President Connolly enjoying the Fleadh as event brings 95% surge in footfall to Belfast
Opening the Fleadh on Sunday, Connolly described it as a ‘celebration of what we all have in common, and the universality of music, sound, and dance’.
PRESIDENT CATHERINE CONNOLLY has been pictured enjoying the Fleadh on a city bike as the cultural event brings a 95% surge in footfall to Belfast.
The Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann has come to Belfast for the first time and Connolly was among those to open the cultural event last Sunday.
Speaking on Sunday, Connolly said the Fleadh brings together “musicians and dancers from different traditions”.
“What lies ahead is the celebration of what we all have in common, and the universality of music, sound, and dance,” she said.
“And it’s that universality and that sharing that we celebrate over the coming week.”
Connolly was spotted enjoying the Fleadh on Monday and was again pictured on Wednesday, this time using a Belfast Bike to get around.
Belfast mural artist and illustrator Danni Simpson was among those to meet Connolly on Wednesday.
Simpson showed Connolly her hand-painted map of Ireland.
Simpson said the Fleadh “has been amazing” and that Belfast has “come to life”.
“It’s not every day you get to show your artwork to a President,” she added in an Instagram post, which also featured videos of Connolly cycling up and down Commercial Court, a popular cobbled alley in Belfast.
It’s understood that Taoiseach Micheál Martin will attend the Fleadh later today.
Meanwhile, the Fleadh has seen a 95% footfall increase in Belfast and some pubs were forced to put up “full house” signs yesterday given the crowds.
The celebration of Irish music and culture will run until Sunday, with more than 200 events and 180 traditional music competitions at venues, pubs and streets.
There were an estimated 176,000 visitors to the city centre on Sunday and 165,000 on Monday, with the previous prediction of 800,000 visitors now expected to be exceeded.
Footfall on Sunday was up 95% on the same day last year.
On Monday, footfall figures showed an increase of 75% on the same day last year, with a 126% increase on last week’s footfall figures.
This year is the first time the annual music festival has been held in Belfast and only the second time it has been held in the North, after being hosted in Derry in 2013.
The 2026 event has been billed as one of the most culturally diverse in its history, with cross-community participation and a celebration of traditions from across the North and beyond.
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