Hugh Quinn reminisces about Fleadhs gone by

Hugh Quinn knows all about the feeling of a Fleadh day in Dromore.

Reputed to be one of the best-suited towns in the country for a Fleadh, Dromore has enjoyed plenty of the music-filled festivities down through the years.

So, as the lovely light of next week’s Ulster Fleadh rises before us, we spoke with Hugh to find out why Dromore is such a great setting for one of the pearls of Irish traditional music.

“Well,” began Hugh. “Dromore has been very lucky to have Fleadhs – both county and provincial – so many times down the years.

“Dromore’s love affair with the Fleadh dates back first to 1970; the year that this small Tyrone town became the first place in the North to host a Fleadh,” said Hugh.

Present on that historic day was a young boy who had travelled from his homestead three-miles outside the town on the bar of his father’s bike.

That boy is now the chairman of the Dromore branch of Comhaltas: That boy is Hugh Quinn.

“I don’t remember too much from that day, but I haven’t forgetten everything either,” he said..

Hugh recalled the bumpy road into town, and described a scene that still holds a place in his memory some 52 years on.

“It was that day that I first saw the The Pride of Erin Céilí Band, and there, the three time All-Ireland winners sat playing outside the old post office,” said Hugh with a glint in his eye.

But Hugh feels fortunate that he does not depend on that single day as the sole source of his Dromore-Fleadh-memories.

“We had Fleadhs in 1986, 1989, and 2002, and a heap of other years, and everyone of them have been fantastic,” he said. “As far as I can see, there are a few reasons for that.

“Firstly, it is because Dromore is a music town, and, likewise, traditional music also runs in the water in those areas surrounding it.

“The second reason is to do with the geography of the town: It is contained without being claustrophobic, and this lends to the atmosphere and encourages street playing – something which has been in waning at Fleadhs in modern times.”

Hugh’s remarks will resonate with anyone fortunate enough to have walked the streets of Dromore during a Fleadh.

Music drifts from the open doorway of every pub, the feet of dancers hammer out rhythms on the footpaths, and, with the town totally pedestrianised for the event, families and revellers are free to follow their ear unobstructed by the threat of passing traffic.

“Everything is in place now and the countdown is on,” said Hugh. “We can’t wait for the town to spring into life with music and dance!”