The chair of Clare Tourism is confident that efforts to harness the benefits of the Fleadh for the county will pay off.
With hundreds of thousands of people enjoying the festivities in Ennis this week, Clare Tourism is organising tours which are showing off other parts of Clare.
Thousands of copies of a booklet of vouchers are also being distributed, and this is designed to encourage some of the visitors to return in the months ahead.
Meanwhile, with people descending on the county town from far and wide, an army of volunteers are on hand to ensure everyone gets the most out of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.
Clare FM’s Fiona Cahill is at the Fleadh Volunteer Centre at the Holy Family School in Ennis, where she’s been speaking with many of those who’ve signed up for the job:
It’s Day 3 of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Ennis and at the heart of the celebrations are over 1,500 volunteers who have given up their free time to ensure the festival runs smoothly.
Easily identified by their bright yellow t-shirts, swarms of men and women of all ages, from Ireland and across the world have taken to the streets to help visitors and locals alike to get the most out of festivities.
Development Coordinator with the Clare Volunteer Centre, Sharon Meaney explains what the volunteers have been getting up to so far this week.
Providing accessibility for all is one of the key aims of the Fleadh and a number of wheelchairs and ramps are available free of charge for anyone who needs them.
James O’Donoghue from Kinvara has been working within the disability sector for the past number of years and he says it’s hugely important that there’s equal access for all festival-goers.
Volunteers have travelled from across the world to help out in this year’s festival and can be spotted out and about on the streets of Ennis wearing their bright yellow t-shirts.
But with an improvement on last year’s weather, even more volunteers will be needed over the coming days and Chair of the Board of the Clare Volunteer Centre, Michael Foley says anyone can get involved.
