www.mcgahanlees.com

We are proud to announce the 9th McGahan Lees Open Feis, to be held on:

Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th March, 2010
Hylands School, Hatfield Grove, Chelmsford CM1 3DF, Essex
Feis Registered with An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha

[Please scroll down to download a syllabus, entry form or timetable]

We have emailed our syllabus to all teachers, region by region. You will also find a PDF copy below. Please feel free to download it, and pass it on to your friends and colleagues if you wish. If you are a registered teacher and you did not receive a copy, please contact the webmaster.

Also below is a self-calculating Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, which you can use to send us your entries. Please use this spreadsheet if you can -- it saves you from having to calculate your entry totals, and also means that we won't introduce typing errors at our end.

For those without a copy of Excel, there is a PDF entry form, which can be downloaded, printed off, filled in and returned with your entry fees.

If you have any queries, please contact the webmaster.

* Stop Press: Wellpark Scotland will be filming a documentary about Irish Dancing at the McGahan Lees Open Feis on the 14th of March with full permission from the organisers and An Comisiún. If you are present and do not wished to be filmed, please make yourself known to a member of the production team.

* Errata: There were a couple of errors in the syllabus issued on 22 January -- the dates shown against the days each age group will dance, on pages 2 and 4, were incorrect. Please download a revised version from below.

* Our final timetable was uploaded on 8 March and can be downloaded if you scroll down this page. Copies have also been emailed to Teachers.

Transport

Taxis

Please see the taxi information on our home page.

Buses

There is a great bus service from Stansted to Chelmsford, with a direct service from the airport bus stand (immediately outside the terminal building) to Chelmsford rail station. From there it is a short cab ride to the feis. According to current information, the service runs every hour and takes around 35 minutes. The cost is around £11.00 return. See http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/southeast/essex/stansted/index.php

See http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/southeast/essex/stansted/X30.pdf for a timetable.

Rail

For those wanting to combine our feis with a spot of sightseeing or shopping in London, there are excellent rail links between Stansted and London Liverpool Street station (around 50 minutes), and also between Liverpool Street and Chelmsford (around 35 minutes). See http://www.stanstedexpress.com/ and http://www.thetrainline.com for details of trains, and search for 'london tourist information' on Yahoo or Google for a whole host of tourist information websites.

Top

Accommodation

Pontlands Park Hotel
+44 (0)1245 476444

County Hotel
+44 (0)1245 455700
Town centre, 5 minute walk from station and 5 minute cab journey to feis.

South Lodge Hotel
+44 (0)1245 264564
10 minute walk to feis, 5 minute cab journey from station/feis.

Atlantic Hotel
+44 (0)1245 268168
10 minute walk from station and 10 minute cab journey to feis.

Premier Travel Inn, Springfield, Nr. Chelmsford
+44 (0)870 238 3310
10 minute cab journey from station/feis

Miami Hotel
+44 (0)1245 264848
15 minute walk to feis, 5 minute cab journey from station/feis.

Premier Travel Inn, Boreham Interchange, Nr. Chelmsford
+44 (0)870 990 6394
10 minute cab journey from station/feis

Holiday Inn, Brentwood (J28 M25/A12)
+44 (0)870 400 9012
15-20 minute drive from feis

Note that all journey times assume 'normal' traffic conditions. As always, please allow plenty of time for hold-ups, train delays, etc.

Those arriving late or leaving early might decide to stay near the airport itself. There is a brand new Radisson SAS, which is literally a two minute walk from the terminal. There are also numerous other hotels and B&Bs in the area. Try searching for 'stansted accommodation' using your favourite search engine.

Directions

The full address of the venue, including the postcode for those wanting online maps, is:

Hylands School
Hatfield Grove
Chelmsford
Essex
CM1 3DF

Important! Please note that the correct car park entrance is not that in Hatfield Grove, which is the administrative entrance of the school and the entrance to which the postcode relates. You will find directions and parking instructions here. Please note that if you use the postcode with satnav it will direct you to the wrong entrance!