The Charleville Cheese festival came into being in 1970 as the "first cheese festival in Ireland." It would continue as a major
dance festival and grow in stature eventually hosting the Charleville Cheese Festival Song Contest which started in 1982. The last
festival appears to have taken place in 1991 and was cancelled in 1992 promising to return, but it never did. As recently
as 2011 plans were being discussed to resurrect the festival after a 21 year absence.