News

It’s a new dawn for Comhaltas in North West

The arrival of summer 2008 marks a new dawn for Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann in the North West. As part of a five year national development programme devised to give people genuine access to the traditional arts Dún Uladh Cultural Heritage Centre has been made a Regional Resource Centre. Dún Uladh will be the regional headquarters for a specially devised “Meitheal Region”, incorporating counties Antrim, Derry, Donegal, Down & Tyrone, from where the organisation will manage and administer its development programme.

The core concept of the ‘Meitheal’ is that it reaches beyond the Comhaltas movement to link to the community. The interests, talents and energies of a wide array of individuals and groups will be engaged through new connections, partnerships and local cooperation, to work together for the benefit of all.

Senator Labhrás O’Murchú, Árd Stiúrthóir of CCE announced Dún Uladh as the Regional Resource Centre in his address to delegates at the annual C.C.E. Comhairle Uladh and congratulated everyone involved (both member & non-member).

In commenting on the Meitheal concept he told members “This is a new dawn for Comhaltas. It is a huge boost for our cultural identity as a distinctive nation. It will empower a ‘Meitheal’ of volunteers to develop cultural potential at community level that might otherwise remain dormant. The result of this new Comhaltas development programme will, in time, impact in every region of Ireland and throughout the Irish diaspora. This is official acknowledgement of the successful and valuable work done by the thousands of Comhaltas volunteers at community level for over half a century.”

The launch of the programme has been complimented by a major funding initiative investing several million pounds in the traditional arts throughout Ireland since 2006. This investment is aimed at advancing the vision of Comhaltas, that being: 

“The traditional arts should be an enriching part of the lives of Irish people everywhere, particularly our young people; they should be a living, highly visible and vibrant part of society; they should be easily accessible to all; and their unique, social, cultural and economic benefits should be fully realised by communities and individuals throughout the country and in Irish communities abroad.”

A significant proportion of future funding will be allocated and invested in the Omagh based Dún Uladh Cultural Heritage Centre and in the development of the “Meitheal Region”. Visitors to the centre will already see a difference with recent developments and. In time, it is envisaged that Dún Uladh will become a state of the art cultural base with facilities for the use of all people interested in the advancement of our traditions and culture.

Dún Uladh’s office is staffed from 9.00am to 5.00pm daily Monday to Friday by, Brendan McAleer and Anne McGrath.

For more information please contact: Dún Uladh Cultural Heritage Centre, Ballinamullan, Omagh, Co. Tyrone. Tel/Fax (0044) 28 8224 2777. email : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it