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A story from Warrenpoint

When the Fleadh comes to town

In short: Fleadh Cheoil Uladh, the Ulster Fleadh, is a traditional Irish music festival that Warrenpoint has hosted, filling the town with competitions, sessions, concerts and dancing.

When Warrenpoint hosts Fleadh Cheoil Uladh, the town fills with competitions, sessions, concerts and dancing. This is tradition that's very much alive: today's musicians, and the next generation coming up behind them.

Go and see it

Find a session and settle in.

Make a day of it: Evening out Locals love

Questions people ask

What is Fleadh Cheoil Uladh?

The Ulster Fleadh: a festival of traditional Irish music with competitions, sessions, concerts and dancing.

Has Warrenpoint hosted the Ulster Fleadh?

Yes. Check What's On to see where it is being held this year.

Sources: Fleadh Cheoil Uladh hosted in Warrenpoint. Spotted something we should correct? Let us know.

Then, nearby

Somewhere to eat or drink afterwards, closest first.

Photo of Leafy Greens & Co., Warrenpoint

Cafés · Warrenpoint

Leafy Greens & Co.

Vegetarian café and deli on Church St, Warrenpoint.

In Warrenpoint30–60 min
Photo of Church Lane Coffee, Warrenpoint

Cafés · Warrenpoint

Church Lane Coffee

Coffee shop on Church St, Warrenpoint.

In Warrenpoint30–60 min

Restaurants · Warrenpoint

The Wheelbarrow

Restaurant on Mary St, Warrenpoint.

In Warrenpoint1–2 hours

Story · Warrenpoint

How the train made Warrenpoint a holiday town

From 1849 until 1965 the railway ran right into Warrenpoint, and it changed the place. The railway company didn't just bring people here: it put money into hotels and entertainment so they'd stay. That's a big part of why Warrenpoint became somewhere you came for your holidays, not somewhere you passed through.

Stroll the seafront and picture the trains unloading holidaymakers a few streets away.

Story · Warrenpoint

The grand hotel that went bust in a year

The Beach Hotel opened in March 1885 with fifty rooms, a billiard room, a smoking room, and baths with hot, cold, fresh and salt water. It was a big bet, and it didn't pay off for its owner, Henry Stanley, who went bankrupt the following year. The Great Northern Railway Company bought it, made it bigger and folded it into their seaside holiday business.

Walk the front and look up at the old hotel buildings that line it.

Story · Warrenpoint

From grand hotel to school

The Great Northern Hotel stopped being a hotel in 1923, but the building carried on. Over the years it was a boarding school, a day school and a home for elderly men. One building, and you can follow the whole story of the town in it: from Victorian holidays to classrooms and care.

Look out for the old Great Northern building on your walk through town.