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Welcome to the website for the
2010 MIDWEST FLEADH CHEOIL
in Forest Park, Illinois, June 25-27, 2010
HOSTED BY
Murphy Roche Irish Music Club
Click here to see results
The 2010 Fleadh is in the books...
Check back here for the 2011 Fleadh!
MIke and Kell,
You are to be congratulated for putting on one of the best fleadh's I have ever attended. In fact I will go so far as to say the best US fleadh I have ever been to.
I wondered if your concept would work- well it did and made for a very enjoyable day for both competitors and for the audience. It was very well organized and the work you put in to be sure everyone knew where every thing was perfect. The amount of work coordination this must have taken must have been enormous, but it showed in a perfectly run event.
I hope that this gets repeated both here and elsewhere.
Well done.
Kathleen O'Laughlin
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Key Facts:
For all:
Parking is available at the Blue Line Lot for the CTA. This lot is located just north of the DesPlaines exit of I-290. (Please note that DesPlaines is not accessible when you are coming from Chicago, so you will need to exit I-290 at Harlem, go north to Madison, turn left on Madison, left on DesPlaines. The lot will be on your right just before the entrance to I-290.)
Entry wristbands for daytime Saturday and the evening bands competition will be available for purchase at Molly Malone’s on Friday evening from 7-10 and at Healy’s Westside starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Daytime bands will also be available at individual venues. With 21 bands competing, we anticipate a sellout for the evening bands competition, so be sure to purchase your wristband early.
Shuttle buses will be available from 8-4 on Madison Street to take you from venue to venue.
For competitors:
Registration packets will be available at Molly Malone’s (7652 Madison Street) from 7-10 p.m. on Friday and starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Please allow 1 hour prior to your competition to pick up your packet and then get to your venue, if you are picking up your packet on Saturday.
We will adhere to the schedule and the order of play. If you are not in the competition room at the time you are scheduled to play and are not listed in the program as being in a competing competition timeslot, you risk disqualification. Please check in with the call steward at the start of the competition timeslot. The fleadh committee is committed to calling competitors in the order established by the program book.
Bands will play in the order posted in the program book. The competition will begin at 6:30 without fail. The first band on the program will be seated on stage by 6:30 p.m., ready to play following the opening remarks.
Competitors:
If you have questions about the event, please call 630-212-7679.
The Midwest Regional Fleadh is one of several qualifying events where musicians of all ages compete to qualify for a spot in the world championship of Irish music know as the All Ireland Fleadh. This world championship, the All Ireland Fleadh, has launched the careers of many famous persons such as Martin Hayes, Eileen Ivers, Matt Moloy, Frankie Gavin and Chicago’s very own Liz Carroll and John Williams. The title of All-Ireland champion is a much sought after accolade whose luster stays with the winners for life.
We’re back in
Chicago after many years making the circuit of venues in the
Midwest. For 2010, the fleadh will return to its Irish roots and be hosted by the Murphy Roche Irish Music Club in conjunction with the
Village of
Forest Park.
If you’ve been to a fleadh in
Ireland, you know that there are typically multiple venues for the event. This year, we will hope to replicate that experience by hosting the fleadh in the businesses that line
Madison Street in
Forest Park,
Illinois.  Most venues are within a four block stretch. The highlight will be the bands competition, which will be held in
St. John’s
Evangelistic
Lutheran
Church, an amazing venue for the competition, with fabulous acoustics and enough seating for +600 spectators. The altar can comfortably hold +20 musicians in a concert/competition setting.
If you have never participated or attended a Fleadh Cheoil (pr. flah key-ole), it is a music competition for traditional Irish music. The so-called Midwest Fleadh is the qualifying competition for competitors residing west of
New York
State to the Pacific Ocean for the whole of
North America. The Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann (pr. flah key-ole nah herrin) is the competition for the first and second place winners of each respective Provincial Fleadh Cheoil, of which there are 7 (4 in
Ireland, 1 in
Britain, 2 in the
U.S.). This competition determines the top three musicians in the world in each instrument category and age group and is commonly known as the All Ireland, which will be held in
County Cavan,
Ireland, in August.
In the past, the Midwest Regional Fleadh Cheoil has been hosted in enclosed venues. It was an insiders’ event created by and for members of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann; however, outsiders were permitted to participate. This type of event is at odds with the vision of the international organization, which focuses on outreach and education in a festival atmosphere.
The 2010 Midwest Fleadh will move from the enclosed, closed campus-type venue to an inclusive, community immersed festival, with a focus on education and outreach. Beyond hosting a competition with an opportunity to qualify for the All Ireland, this Fleadh will provide an opportunity to educate and entertain the community on Irish music, with a goal of gaining new interest in the culture of traditional Irish music. It will provide an opportunity for the public at large to hear and appreciate Irish traditional music played at a world class level, as well as an opportunity to hear trad music played in a social setting. Because the event is an all day festival taking place in the village, competitors, their families and the spectators will have an opportunity to spending non-competition time enjoying the atmosphere on
Madison Street. The businesses of
Forest Park are ideal hosts for this venture. The owners are supportive and enthusiastic toward the project.
General Event Overview
Organization: Murphy Roche Irish Music Club and
School of
Irish Music
Address:
11309 -72nd Street,
Burr Ridge,
Illinois
60527-4938
USA
Phone Number: (630) 212-7679
Fax: (630) 662-8611
Email Addresses: scoil@murphyroche.org, info@murphyroche.org
Contact: Kell Chole, Mike Chole, Terry Healy, Chairmen
Event: North American Provincial Fleadh Cheoil:
Midwest
Date: June 25-27, 2010
Location:
Forest Park,
Illinois
Terms: Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann (pr. colt-us kell-tory err-ann) International association of Irish musicians, based in
Dublin, sanctioning organization for the event.
Overview: Fleadh Cheoil (pr. flah key-ole) – Music competition for traditional Irish music. The so-called Midwest Fleadh is the qualifying competition for competitors residing west of
New York
State to the Pacific Ocean for the whole of
North America. The Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann (pr. flah key-ole nah herrin) is the competition for the first and second place winners of each respective Provincial Fleadh Cheoil, of which there are 7 (4 in
Ireland, 1 in
Britain, 2 in the
U.S.). This competition determines the top three musicians in the world in each instrument category and age group and is commonly known as the All Ireland.
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Midwest Fleadh 2010
June 25-27,2010
Forest Park, Illinois
Opening Ceremonies and Ceilis
June 25, 7 p.m.
Molly Malones
7652 Madison Street
Forest Park, IL 60130
(708) 366-8073
Competitions
June 26, 9 a.m.
Schedule
Venues
Syllabus
Program Book
Entry wrist bands will be available all day at all Venues.
Closing Ceremonies and Ceilis
June 27, 10 a.m.
Molly Malones
7652 Madison Street
Forest Park, IL 60130
(708) 366-8073
Official Hotel:
Best Western Hotel,
4400 Frontage Road,
Hillside,
IL
60162
(708) 544-9300.
Free shuttle to/from O'Hare
Mass
June 27, 10 a.m.
Forest Park, Illinois
View Map
Special thanks to our sponsors:
Clear Channel
Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, Dublin
Diageo
Burke Beverages
Forest Park Chamber of Commerce
Dr. Mike Zindrick
Milwaukee Irish Fest Foundation
Dr. Gregory Cowell and Jeannine Glavis Cowell, RN, JD
Forest Park Liquor Commission
Kagan & Gaines
AmCom Shows
FTD
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