Over the last weekend in August, Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann transforms Buncrana, County Donegal into a town of traditional music, tunes and song.

For the fourth time, Buncrana in County Donegal hosts the great festival of traditional music Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.

Crowds reach a peak of 50,000 on Saturday, with many visitors sleeping in tents and caravans for the weekend. Impromptu concerts take place at the campsite where two musicians with guitars entertain a select gathering of campers.

Musicians young and old are performing and listening to music together. Music is taking place in every conceivable part of Buncrana. Saint Patrick’s Accordion Band from Randalstown in County Antrim march through the town, while a small group of children perform beside the campsite.

Competitors and spectators from all over the world attend the Fleadh. They are united by their interest in traditional Irish music. A group of friends from the Brittany region of France are touring Ireland, but have travelled to Donegal specifically to attend the Fleadh,

We enjoy very much Irish music and we have come especially for it.

A lot of Breton people play Irish music and this group of visitors love the atmosphere at the Fleadh. One of them attended the Fleadh when it was held in Buncrana in 1979. This is the third Fleadh another member of the group has attended.

’Fleá ‘80’ was broadcast on 28 September 1980. The reporter is Pádraic Ó Catháin.

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