Structure

Overall Structure

Comhaltas is a global movement involving tens of thousands of people. The movement is democratically governed, with volunteer members on each level organising themselves into committees which then elect representatives to the next level of the organisation.

Comhaltas also has a small number of professional staff, based in our Dublin headquarters or in one of our Regional Resource Centres.

If you think that you’d like to be a part of our community, use the Branch Locator to find the branch nearest you. You can be sure of a very warm welcome!

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Branches

The branch is the fundamental and most important unit of our movement, making it possible to propagate and strengthen our native cultural characteristics within local communities. Our members come together to organise sessions, classes, concerts, festivals, exhibitions, fleadhanna cheoil, and other events both for their own enjoyment and that of the community at large.

These activites together with our educational programmes further the aims and objectives of the movement while fostering creative skills and artistic talent. Our branches participate in an extraordinary range of activities, all based on local volunteerism. Some Comhaltas branches:

There seems to be no limit to the creativity of our volunteers, and it’s the imagination and passion of these local branch members that has made Comhaltas into such a vibrant movement over the years.

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County/Regional Boards

Our branches are organised into regions. Within Ireland, these regions correspond to Irish counties, while elsewhere in the world the area covered by a region is a bit bigger. A County Board, or a Regional Board in Britain and North America, can be formed in any County or Region where three or more branches exist. The board, made up of delegates from each branch, is responsible for the formation of new branches and promotion of the aims and objectives of the movement.

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Provincial Councils

Provincial Councils exist in each of Ireland’s four provinces, in Britain, and in North America. These councils, made up of delegates from County/Regional Boards, control and direct Comhaltas activities within the province, with the exception of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, which is organised by the Ardchomhairle.

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Ardchomhairle (Central Executive Council)

The Ardchomhairle, the governing body of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, consists of the President General, the Director General, the Secretary General, the Treasurer General, and the Registrar General.

In addition, a Music Officer, a Competitions Officer, and a Public Relations Officer are appointed from within the Ardchomhairle. Each Provincial Council Chairman becomes a member of the Ardchomhairle automatically, while the remainder of the body consists of two Provincial Council delegates from each province.

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Regional Resource Centres

Our vision for the future is based around working within local communities. As a core part of our “Meitheal” initiative, we are establishing a network of Regional Resource Centres to help bring our cultural assets into local communities, making the traditional arts a living presence that is accessible to all.

These Regional Resource Centres offer you a chance to participate more fully in Comhaltas and traditional culture, wherever you live. You can find a list of our Regional Resource Centres on the Locations page of our website.

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