President Higgins to perform one of his last civic duties at the official opening of Wexford’s Fleadh Cheoil 2025

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

President Michael D. Higgins will once more officially open the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Wexford on Sunday, August 3. In what will be one of his last public duties before he retires from his position in the Autumn, President Higgins will reprise the duties he fulfilled last year as he opens the curtain on a week-long celebration of Irish traditional music.

The festivities will kick off at 1 p.m. on the Gig Rig on the Quay with a performance by a local youth orchestra before President Higgins takes to the stage at 3 p.m. for the official opening ceremony. Afterwards, from 4 p.m. there will be a “star-studded array of traditional acts” playing late into the night as proceedings begin in earnest.

Confirming the president’s appearance, chief executive of Wexford County Council (WCC) Eddie Taaffe said there were also tentative plans to have a fireworks display on the closing night of the Fleadh a week later.

“That will be a jam-packed evening on the Gig Rig, headlined by the All-Ireland winning ceilí band, we’re also hoping to have a fireworks display on the night as well, to mark the end of what will hopefully be two successful Fleadhs in Wexford,” he said.

That closing ceremony will also see the Fleadh baton passed to a delegation from Belfast as it prepares to emulate Wexford’s successful staging of two consecutive events.

With the event now just weeks away, Mr Taaffe said there will be a “certain amount of disruption” in Wexford town in the coming days as crews prepare for the arrival of an estimated 700,000 people to the county. ,

Traffic management plans, including the bus schedules, are on the Fleadh Cheoil website.