THE name of Belfast Chief Executive John Walsh will be added to the prestigious Aisling Awards Roll of Honour listing at this year's gala celebration in the Europa Hotel in recognition of his success in bringing Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann to Belfast.
Previous recipients of the coveted Roll of Honour accolade include the Firefighters of Belfast, Irish language enthusiast Linda Ervine, and peacemaker the Rev. Harold Good.
This year's Fleadh Cheoil, which attracted a staggering 1.6m visitors to the city, was also hailed for embracing both of the city's proud traditions.
A former City Solicitor and Director of Legal and Civic Services, John Walsh took up position as Chief Executive in March 2022.
Taking over as Chief Executive in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, Walsh inherited an organisation tasked with supporting Belfast's economic and social recovery while continuing to deliver essential services to residents.
One of his main ambitions was bringing Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann to Belfast.
In 2022 and 2023, after several years of preparations, Belfast lost out to Mullingar and in 2024 and 2025, lost out to Wexford.
An instrumental figure in Belfast City Council's winning bid, John led the team to success and in August, Belfast hosted Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann for the first time in the event's 75-year history.
In an interview with our sister newspaper, The Irish Echo following the Fleadh, John recalled a simple question at the Fleadh Cheoil in Belfast. It came from a woman who’d been pushing a pram that had two small children. “Do you work for the council?” she asked him outside the front of City Hall where various acts, traditional and otherwise, were performing on the main stage that Monday afternoon.“I do work for the council,” said its chief executive.
“This is wonderful,” the woman told him. “This is one of the best things I’ve ever seen in this city.”
“I thanked her for that,” Walsh recalled. “And as I started to walk away, she put her hand on my arm and she said, ‘I want you to know that I come from East Belfast and I would not normally have thought that the Fleadh was something I would be going to.’
She said, ‘I’m coming back. It was amazing/"
Walsh said. “It was a real moment for me.”
The Council CEO has praised the enthusiasm and professionalism of City Hall staff — especially the frontline teams — who delivered the Irish traditional music extravaganza.
“The word that stands out to me is pride — they had real pride in their city,” he said,
"They were out there making sure this was the best possible event and experience for people coming to this place. It was really incredible.”
Nonetheless, John couldn’t help wondering if anyone would show up, and he got little sleep the night before the event was due to begin.
“When I walked out in the opening event on the Sunday, and we were going to the main stage,” he said.
“I looked at the grounds of City Hall and I looked to the gardens in front of the main stage, and to the rear of City Hall. I thought that’s really busy, so that’s really good.
“I could see this sea of people — at midday, on a Sunday in Belfast city centre a big sea of people. I thought, it's happening, this is really happening and that was a real moment for me."
"The third real moment was when the Shankill Road Defenders band left the main stage to a standing ovation from everybody in the grounds and a guard of honor back into the City Hall.
“I think, for me, the Fleadh this year really did encompass that broad span and people engaged, the city embraced it. The numbers reflected that it really was an unbelievable success. For local people, the sense of pride — that they had pulled this off in a place where expressions of identity have long been contentious — was palpable. The city was smiling."
John Walsh will be presented with his Roll of Honour Award at the Aisling Awards in the Europa Hotel on Friday, November 27. Handing over the bronze statuette designed by artist Robert Ballagh will be Movie House sponsor and three decade-long sponsor of the Aisling Awards, Michael McAdam.
Alison McCrudden, Chair of Tuairiscigh which publishes the Belfast Media titles said: "Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann was a landmark moment in the rise of Belfast. The scale of the event was matched only by the marvellous spirit of reconciliation and live-and-let-live which permeated every part of the Fleadh.
"For us, while success has many fathers and mothers, the person who had the vision and then the drive to bring the Fleadh to Belfast was John Walsh, CEO of Belfast City Council.
"For that reason, we're delighted to have him follow in the footsteps of other great servants of Belfast like former Lord Mayor Ian Adamson and the late Fr Des Wilson by accepting the AIsling Roll of Honour Award.”
