The Fleadh brought hundreds of thousands of visitors into Belfast, with key parts of the city centre pedestrianised for the celebrations. Streets normally dominated by traffic became spaces for music, trade and community life, giving businesses a boost in footfall and residents a glimpse of a different kind of city centre.

South Belfast MLA Kate Nicholl said: “The Fleadh has shown Belfast at its best, open, welcoming and full of life. When we design our streets around people instead of traffic, our city centre becomes somewhere people actually want to spend time, and that’s good for our shops, our hospitality sector and as we've seen so clearly this week, our sense of civic pride.

“But we can’t take the benefits of pedestrianisation without also taking accessibility seriously. Any expansion has to be designed with disabled people and accessibility organisations from the start, not bolted on afterwards. That means looking properly at disabled parking, accessible drop-off points, public transport connectivity and wayfinding.

“We’re asking Belfast City Council to commission a review that learns the lessons of the Fleadh and looks at best practice from other cities, so we can build a long-term vision for the city centre that works for everyone, including securing the future of night buses and rail services.”