The Feis at 50 exhibition opened at Enniskillen Castle last Friday night drawing significant crowds to the museum.

It's a special year for the Fermanagh Feis as it is celebrating 50 years since the revived Feis began in 1952.

To celebrate, the museum exhibition is being shown until March 17. There is also a concert to be held in the Ardhowen on April 21 to celebrate the talent of Feis competitors, both past and present.

There is a plethora of Feis memorabilia on display at the museum including old programmes, original cups and newspaper cuttings celebrating the success of the many competitors over the years which has now grown to become the largest Feis in Ireland. The history and background of the Feis is explained in the exhibition and its cross-community focus.

The fact that generations of families have taken part over the years is also a theme.

Canon Patrick Marron was instrumental in reviving Feis Fhearmanach in 1962 and served on the Committee until 1981. As many as 193 people have served on the Committee. The longest serving Committee member is President, Lena Corrigan who has been on the Committee for 36 years.

The largest Committee to serve was for Feis 1988 with 58 members. The smallest was for Feis 2005 with just nine members.

Showing how the Feis has grown, in 1962 the Feis was a one day event held in two venues with 70 competitions attracting 687 entrants. The most popular competition was the Reel or Slip Jig (under 11) with 92 entrants. There were 27 competitions in Irish Dancing, 30 in Traditional Music and 10 in Irish Language.

Last year, the Feis ran for six weeks in eight venues with 291 competitions attracting 7,098 entrants. There were 46 competitions in Irish Dancing, 61 in Traditional Music and 22 in Irish Language. The most popular competition was P3 Art, attracting 198 entrants.

In 2011, the largest number of participants in a single competition occurred when almost 450 children competed in the Large Primary Choirs.

The largest entry in a single competition performed in front of an audience was in 1975 when 138 girls aged 8-10 recited The Coach by Eleanor Farjeon.

In 2012, the Feis Syllabus contains a record 318 competitions.

Dr. Michael Brown of the Development Media Workshop has produced a DVD on the history and present day Feis which was shown at the launch night. This DVD is also screened at the museum exhibition. The Feis is continuing this week. Last week Irish language competitions took place at the Clinton Centre. Currently the Classical Music classes are being held at St. Fanchea's College.