The Choir Band Newbridge, circa 1910
THE CHOIR BAND [Taken from New Link magazine November 1973 to December 1974 edition]
A brass band was formed in Newbridge in 1879. It appears that ‘St. Conleth’s Brass and Read Band’ was the name of this band. They performed during celebrations to mark the release of Fr. Kinsella, Parish Priest of Caragh, from jail during the time of the Clongorey evictions. Many of their instruments were subsequently put in storage.
Some of the people said to have been members of this St. Conleth’s Band later emerged as members of what became known as “The Choir Band”. It is logical to assume that they used some of the instruments that were in ‘storage’. The balance of the instruments were stored in the old school on the station road. Micheal Sheenan, who attended this school as a boy, pre-1914, remembers a locked press in the school which contained musical instruments and a big drum on top of press. This may well have been the drum that later went to Ballytore.
The original photograph below, taken by Finnerty Studio Photographers, is among the thousands of photographs in the Kildare Local Studies collections.
2nd. Row from Back: John Byrne; Unidentified Person; Tom Murphy; Unidentified Person; John Murphy; Brigid Behan; William Nolan.
3rd Row from Back: Unidentified Person; Unidentified Person; Unidentified Person; Jennie Moynahan; Mary Moynahan; Brigid Moynahan; Unidentified Person; Jack Fitzgerald; Unidentified Person.
Seated in Front: Larry Murphy; Unidentified Person; Philip Grogan; Major Murphy (Choir Master); Micheal Spain; Unidentified Person; Paddy Moran.
Re-typed by Tiarnan Carroll.
