The 128th Feis Cheoil began yesterday but there’s a chance it could be the last over funding concerns. 

The competition does not receive official Government funding, except for “ad-hoc” packages from the Department of Arts, according to its organisers.  

This year’s Feis continues until Friday the 22nd of this month. Today was Choir day, with specific days for percussion, singing, strings and even conductors to come. 

In total, about 5,000 people will take part, many of them children. The age range begins at about 7 or 8 years of age, and runs generally up to about 26 or 27. There’s no upper age limit in the senior competitions, and the older competitors are often Masters of their chosen genre. 

The Feis has survived through two World Wars and through Covid, during which all of the events took place remotely. 

Its CEO, Laura Gilsenan, told Newstalk it puts something “unique” on offer for people. 

“Its really the highlight of the musical year, the musical calendar for a lot of people. They work towards it all year and it gives a very specific focus,” she said.  

Funding & the future 

The festival has been “lucky” to work with sponsors and donors over the past 128 years. 

However there’s a “perfect storm” of arrangements coming to a close and costs rising. 

“You can't manage an organisation of this scale without being able to plan for a number of years. You know, if you're just kind of going hand-to-mouth year year to year.” Laura Gilsenan said. 

The Feis is not eligible for Arts Council funding because its a competition. The Council does not fund comeptitions. 

Organisers believe it would be “appropriate” for Government to step in and provide “core-funding,” in order to give them something to build on. 

At the moment the Festival generates money through memberships, ticket prices or entry fees and with help from donors, but thats about half of what it needs to run the event on an annual basis. 

Impact 

The event has a big impact on competitors, according to the CEO. 

Laura Gilsenan told Newstalk particular skills are learned in this environment that are totally different from those learned in classes. 

“You’re performing in front of the public, you’re being assessed by an adjudicator, you’re getting feedback on your perofrmance. You have to have a certain level of determination and resilience because not everyone wins every competition.” 

Main image: A child with a tin whistle. Picture by: Alamy.com