Debate contribution: Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann

Debate contribution by Mr Matthew O'Toole on 14 September 2026.

MLA

Mr Matthew O'Toole

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

14 September 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5685898

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is with real pride and joy that I am able to move a motion about the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann and allow the Assembly the opportunity to reflect on what was, I think, for many of us, one of the most remarkable successes that this city and region has ever had. In the previous debate, there were various accusations that the SDLP Opposition were being negative etc. Of course, it is not the job of any Opposition to cheerlead the Government whom they hold to account, but I hope that people will see in our motion about the fleadh that we are using Opposition time to debate constructively something that is happy. The debate also offers us the opportunity to reflect on something positive. We can learn lessons about specific public policy questions that are mentioned in our motion, such as those about pedestrianisation and how we use the spaces that we share in Belfast and other town and city centres; and how we approach things such as liquor and entertainment licensing in a way that promotes festivals and communities coming together and allows hospitality businesses to put their best foot forward to showcase our world-class offer. Most critically of all, the fleadh demonstrated that what we call "culture" — things that make life worth living through giving us joy and a sense of belonging and purpose, including language, music, dramatic performance and literature — does not have to be things that divide us. All too often in the Chamber, and increasingly so, there appear to be political parties that want to use those things to divide us, but it really does not have to be like that. In this part of Ireland, we can not just accommodate one another but celebrate one another. We can take joy in our diversity. Not every SDLP speech has to involve a quote from John Hume, but most of the best ones do. Hume said:

"Difference is of the essence of humanity."

If you can allow yourself to believe that and become comfortable with that, a whole world of human experience opens up to you. We in this part of Ireland have often closed ourselves off from the experience of taking joy in one another. The fleadh was a milestone for people who have seen this city change over the years. I have not seen it for as many decades as some in the Chamber, but I have known it for a little bit longer than others. I am now in early middle age, so I remember the 1990s and what was called the ring of steel. Our old pal and former Assembly colleague Pat Catney remembers the ring of steel because he used to be a publican inside it. People had to enter this city — a major European city and the second city on this island — through a gate and have their bags checked in order to go into a shop, let alone go to a concert or a pub. Of course, as we know, people did not go to concerts or pubs very much in Belfast city centre for about 30 years. The fact that not only has the ring of steel gone — it went a few decades ago, which is great — but we have totally re-imagined the idea of what Belfast city centre could be is why the fleadh was so remarkable and joyful. I, as, I am sure, lots of people did, had the opportunity to walk around the fleadh. Lots of Belfast city centre is in my constituency, so I lay a bit more claim to it than others. It really was for everybody. As I walked around the fleadh, there was a sense of joy in Irish traditional culture, music and dance — everything from the competitions organised by Comhaltas through to the random and sometimes hilarious busking on the street and the sense of people coming together. One of the most striking things was walking around and seeing people of a certain generation look around themselves and almost catch their breath, a bit like in the Heaney poem about the heart catching someone off guard — I think that I have misquoted Heaney, which I should not have done. It was striking to see people being slightly surprised to be walking around Belfast city centre with a sense of freedom, joy and lightness, and enjoying one another. That is new to our city and is why the fleadh was so special. I should pay tribute, formally, to the statutory agencies responsible for helping to deliver the fleadh — primarily to Belfast City Council and its officers. Departments helped to facilitate it. The Departments for the Economy and Infrastructure played a role, with Belfast City Council in the lead. Of course, there was the Ards branch of Comhaltas, which came to the Great Hall here about a month and a half ago, just before Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann got started in earnest, to give us a flavour of what we would experience, and I thank the Speaker for facilitating that. Lots of us anticipated that there would be lots of visitors, great culture and a bit of craic during that week, but — I do not wish to be too melodramatic in saying this — I certainly was not psychologically or emotionally ready — I do not think that others were ready — for how extraordinary an experience the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Belfast city centre would be. It really was extraordinary. It reimagined the city centre and allowed people to experience culture in a new way. Yes, that was Irish culture in particular, but the space that was opened up included not just traditional Irish culture — music, dance, literature and language — but, importantly, band culture from the Protestant/unionist/loyalist community (PUL) tradition, although PUL is a clumsy phrase, I think. Bands from the unionist tradition from the Shankill and the Newtownards Road put their best feet forward and inspired people with their talent, ability and culture, which is a rich, valued and precious part of the cultural heritage of this part of the island and the whole island of Ireland, and I really mean that. I went down to the Titanic slipway on the night of the bands' showcase, and I have to say that I was inspired by it. The flags that were there are not my flags, and I did not grow up playing those instruments, but I felt connection and pride when I saw those people putting their best feet forward. I do not expect that I will get all that many votes from them next year, but I was nevertheless proud to see them doing their thing, and the sense that we could share something was important to me. That is the kind of society that I want to live in now and the kind of new Ireland that my party and I want to build. I am not trying to co-opt those people into a new Ireland by saying that, and I do not expect them to support it, but that is the kind of spirit with which I want to live. Having done the soft stuff, I will get on to the main purpose of the motion. There are specific lessons that we can learn, and we need to get on with learning them. The first is that pedestrianisation, opening our streets up to festivals and other forms of community gathering, does not have to be the end of the world. Sometimes, we hear from people talking about people not being able to park outside their shop or premises at exactly the right moment. There will always be legitimate questions from traders who want to understand how such things will work, but what we in fact saw at the fleadh was huge footfall and a transformative experience for people in Belfast city centre. We will not have Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Belfast every year, although we will have it next year and lots of us want to have it the year after as well. At some point, other cities in Ireland will say, "We want it back" or, "We'd like it, too". My colleague from Derry is here. For anyone who was in Derry in 2013, that was a brilliant fleadh, too. I was there for one day, and it was terrific. We need more flexibility around pedestrianisation. We need the DFI to take lessons from Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. Think about the fact that we still do not have a fully pedestrianised Hill Street. That is remarkable. The battle to get Hill Street pedestrianised has been Pythonesque, but we were able to do it for the fleadh like me clicking my fingers, and it worked. I have talked consistently on the subject of licensing. We have a very inflexible licensing system. I will not talk about all the issues around the surrender principle, because it is complicated and challenging, but there are flexibility issues when it comes to occasional licences and entertainment licences. As with pedestrianisation, those issues were addressed quickly and with goodwill and energy by Belfast City Council, other statutory agencies and businesses. That was seen not just in the sense of people walking around a former conflict space that became a brilliant festival space but in event spaces such as the Electric Light Station, which opened on Chapel Lane.

I probably should not be naming individual businesses — there are lots of great pubs in Belfast — but I believe that there was also a place called the Donegal Bar at a derelict premises on Donegall Street. I am not endorsing those specific businesses other than to say that they are examples of how opening up and reimagining our city can be facilitated by having more flexible licensing.

Overall, I pay tribute to an extraordinary week in the history of this city, this region and this island. The Fleadh Cheoil had a record number of visitors, and we can all be proud of it. It just shows that this place does not have to be defined by division and dysfunction. Some parties want to make it about that. I am trying not to be too party political, but I want to say —

— that we can deliver amazing things when we put our minds to it. Let us learn lessons and take inspiration from the fleadh.

1,748 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 16:16 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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