Belfast All Ireland Fleadh concludes after drawing estimated one million visitors

The first All Ireland Fleadh in Belfast ended in the early hours of Monday morning with organisers saying they were overwhelmed by the positive response they received from all communities.

It is estimated that there were more than a million people in the city centre during the eight days of the fleadh.

At least 4,000 were still in the grounds of Belfast City Hall at 01:00 BST to hear the closing speeches and final tunes.

Niall McClean, co-chair of the organising committee, told the crowd they were all part of an historic event.

He said: "We've done something that has never, ever happened in this city before. We've brought every single community together – and everybody has absolutely loved it."

McClean added that it has "put a permanent smile on my face. I'm the happiest man in Belfast. Roll on 2027".

"Belfast has shone, the world has come to our doorstep, bringing the biggest numbers ever seen for a Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann," he said.

The All Ireland Fleadh returns to the city from 1 to 8 August 2027.

Dr Labhrás Ó Murchú, director general of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (society of the musicians of Ireland) which runs the annual All Ireland Fleadh, described this year's festival as a "miracle".

He told the crowd: "I hope that when you go back (home), you'll bring with you not just the memories but you'll tell people that you were part of - and you witnessed and you experienced - a miracle here in Belfast this week.

"Because it was a miracle, a miracle of music, a miracle of friendship, a miracle of creativity."

Stormont's economy minister Caoimhe Archibald said a full economic evaluation of the Fleadh "will come in the coming weeks".

Last week, the minister said initial economic assessments suggested Belfast's staging of the Fleadh would bring an additional £53m into the local economy.

A full economic assessment of this year's event, Archibald added, will help shape plans for the Fleadh's return next year, as well as in a more general sense.

"The experience of the Fleadh shows if you build it they will come, so to speak," she said.

"The experience people have had over the course of the past week, we will want to reflect on how can we ensure people can experience that all the time and are there things we should be doing."

However disability campaign groups, such as Disabled People Against Cuts Northern Ireland (DPAC NI), have voiced concern.

On social media they said: "We've seen this played out elsewhere and it's disabled people who pay a price for 'progress'."

DPAC NI spokesperson Dermot Devlin said that "many disabled people can only walk or wheel short distances".

"We need to park or get off public transport close to our destinations."

He added that "further pedestrianisation" of the city centre "without significant mitigation will exclude many of us from our city".