A FLUTE band from the Shankill Road have praised the organisers of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann after they received a "thunderous" reception after performing outside Belfast City Hall.
Shankill Road Defenders Flute Band performed at the Grand Opera House on Saturday but it was their main performance at the Gig Rig stage outside Belfast City Hall on Sunday afternoon which has left them "completely overwhelmed".
Despite the rain, the band received what they described as a "thunderous" reception leaving them feeling like "rock stars".
In a post on their Facebook page, the band said: "We would like to congratulate the Belfast Bands Forum on what has been a historic eight days at The Fleadh for all the member bands.
"We would like to congratulate all the forum bands and members who took part and made it such a success for the forum, and for representing our culture in such a dignified manner.
"A big thank you to Darren Leighton, Chairman of the Belfast Bands Forum and Maurice Brown for the work they put in behind the scenes and also to Councillor Sarah Bunting and former Belfast Lord Mayor Tracy Kelly for the work they do with the Bands Forum.
"A massive thank you to Comhaltas, the organisers, for giving us the opportunity to showcase our music and culture and for the warmth with which we were received.
"We have been completely overwhelmed, as has our band page, after our second and final performance on Sunday.
"Our Facebook page jumped from 12k to 14k followers within a matter of hours. Hundreds of thousands have viewed clips of our performances, with over 15,000 reactions, over 1,000 comments and over 400 shares to date, and our inbox has been inundated with messages of congratulations and well wishes."
The band said the reaction has been "quite surreal".
"We have had comments and messages from every corner of the Republic of Ireland and, here at home, and from the most unlikeliest of places, namely the Falls Road.
"We never imagined the impact our performance on the Gig Rig in particular would have had. We set out to represent our community and culture and to simply do what we love to do and that’s play our music and entertain a crowd.
"When we stepped out of City Hall to a thunderous reception, we felt like rock stars and again leaving the stage back into City Hall, it was cranked up another notch.
"Thank you to every one of you for engaging with us in a positive manner.
"An unforgettable experience. We had a blast!"
