Feile an Phobail
Feile an Phobail is an annual festival of Irish and International culture that takes place in and around the
Falls Road in
Belfast.
Feile an Phobail was established in
1988 as a direct response to the conflict in
Northern Ireland. The
west Belfast community was demonised for many years by both the establishment and the media and this reached fever pitch in March
1988 as a result of the events which followed the
SAS killings of three unarmed
IRA volunteers in
Gibraltar. In reaction to this unparalleled negative and damaging portrayal of the west Belfast community, local groups and their
MP,
Gerry Adams, decided to organise a festival. Its purpose was to celebrate the positive side of the community, its creativity, its energy, its passion for the arts, and for sport. And it aimed at providing events and entertainment at a price that the majority of the community could afford.
In August 1988 the first festival opened with a relatively humble parade of floats and bands and GAA clubs walking in their club regalia to an open-air party in Dunville Park. Street parties were organised throughout the west of the city. Door-to-door collections were made to fund day trips to the seaside for pensioners and outings for young people.
Féile an Phobail has proved a resounding success and has grown from strength to strength, and has been an inspiration to other troubled areas to organise similar festivals. The carnival parade, routinely brings over 50,000 participants for a colourful, musical procession with specially-designed floats representing a chosen theme, dancers and children in costume and face-masks.
It has grown from a one-week festival to a year-round programme with many events. It established the first ever children's festival in Northern Ireland,
Draíocht Children's Arts Festival, with activities ranging from sports to multi-cultural and educational events through the mediums of Irish and English. In 2003 alone, 6,000 children and young people participated in Draíocht events.
It has its own radio station,
Féile FM, that broadcasts across Belfast for two one-month periods in the spring and summer during which volunteers are professionally trained in media and management skills. Some of trainees have gone on to find employment in the local media, including
UTV and
BBC Northern Ireland in Belfast.
It has brought in national and international acts to perform with local musicians, catering for all tastes in dancing and music: from Irish traditional music to world music and pop - from the
Kilfenora Céilí Band,
Brian Kennedy and
Mary Black to the
Afro-Cuban All Stars and the
Harlem Gospel Choir to
Westlife and
Status Quo.
Local poets and writers have read their works on the same podium as renowned authors such as
Patrick Mc Cabe,
Roddy Doyle and
Evelyn Conlon. It has hosted the works of Ireland's leading playwrights and theatre companies, and has been the launching pad for world premiers, such as
Frank McGuinness's
Someone Who'll Watch Over Me and
Marie Jones'
A Night in November by
Dubbeljoint Productions.
The discussion and debates have included talks by world-class journalists and documentary makers including
Robert Fisk (
The Independent),
Michael Moore (Oscar Winner) and have witnessed
Gregory Campbell (
Democratic Unionist Party) on the same panel as
Alex Maskey (
Sinn Féin) at the annual West Belfast Talks Back.
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Feile an Phobail
