Fleá Ceoil

Louis Marcus’s film is a finely observed record of the West Clare Fleadh of 1966 which was held that year in the towns of Kilrush and Quilty. The Fleadh was the highlight of the year on the traditional music calendar. There had been a big resurgence of interest in traditional Irish music in the 1960s, and Irish folk singers like Dolly McMahon, who appears in the film, were seen as part of world-wide boom in folk music. Musicians from Ireland and abroad came to Kilrush to play and to perform to enthusiastic audiences who came to hear the music, celebrate the culture, and to enjoy the crubeens and the craic. The film shows the influence of cinéma vérité in its close observation of small details and in its willingness to stand back from the action and observe. Marcus films the faces of old and young, local and visitor, musician and audience to create an intensely energetic montage and a remarkable cinematic portrait of this vibrant community. 

The film, which was commissioned by Gael Linn, was released in 1967 and won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, greatly contributing to the profile of Irish cinema abroad. Fleá Ceoil was one of a series of longer films made for cinema by Louis Marcus for Gael Linn following the success of their Amharc Éireann newsreel (1956 – ’64). The films were made to promote the Irish language and were primarily presented in Irish. All were directed by Louis Marcus and, from 1965, all were filmed by his longtime friend and collaborator cinematographer Bob Monks.  

Fleá Ceoil is part of The Louis Marcus Collection on the IFI Archive Player. To view more of the collection, please click here.