{"id":2079,"date":"2015-01-24T09:57:21","date_gmt":"2015-01-24T09:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kildare.ie\/ehistory\/?p=2079"},"modified":"2025-10-29T11:52:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T11:52:05","slug":"narraghmore-band-for-big-apple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/narraghmore-band-for-big-apple\/","title":{"rendered":"NARRAGHMORE BAND FOR BIG APPLE"},"content":{"rendered":"

LEINSTER LEADER<\/em> MARCH 11 1989 <\/strong><\/p>\n

NARRAGHMORE BAND FOR BIG APPLE <\/strong><\/p>\n

A period of Irish history remembered for its turbulence succeeded in bringing one lasting asset to the Co. Kildare village of Narraghmore, the Pipe Band, about to take off for the US for a really exciting St. Patrick\u2019s Day celebration was formed back in 1916.\u00a0\u00a0 One man who knows the full history is Jack O\u2019Connor, involved with the band for the past 40 years.\u00a0 According to Jack, the band (first known as the Kilrush Band) was formed at Flanagan\u2019s barn, at Seven Sisters, on the Kilcullen-Athy road.\u00a0 All of those initially involved were in the volunteer force of the day, but apparently they spent a lot of time hanging around that barn, waiting for orders.\u00a0 \u201cThey had time on their hands, waiting for news, and they decided to form the band; eventually the band was really used for the purpose of meetings\u201d.<\/p>\n

No doubt those involved in 1916 would have it hard to believe that the band would survive for so long and its members (in some cases descendents of the founders) would bring the sound of the pipes and drums into an Ireland which has changed so much the idea of flying off to the US just to play in a St. Patrick\u2019s Day parade would have been literally impossible back then, but it\u2019s a high prospect which the current band members really relish.<\/p>\n

This is not the first time for the Narraghmore Pipe Band (the name, incidentally, was changed over 40 years ago, when a band hall was purchased in Narraghmore village) to go abroad.\u00a0 Over the years, there have been trips to Germany, England and Wales, to compete in folk festivals, as well as visits to the Cowal Games in Scotland.<\/p>\n

While the current members prepare for their big moment in March, some of the older folk recently had a get-together to mark the retirement of John \u201cGinger\u201d Kenny, a band member since 1923.\u00a0 Jack O\u2019 Connor explained; \u201cJohn was retiring from work so we held a party at Kelly\u2019s here in Narraghmore and got a lot of his old companions from the band together\u201d.\u00a0 Some of the names will be well known to local people, as they include members of the O\u2019Toole family \u2013 there were O\u2019Tooles in at the start of the band, in 1916; John Noud, another of the founder members, as were Jim Dempsey and Jimmy Doyle.\u00a0 Family traditions are strong in the band, and Jack commented that current prominent members, Billy and Anthony Donovan are nephews of \u201cGinger\u201d Kenny, while Jack himself joined the band in the footsteps of his late father.\u00a0 \u201cAt one stage, my three brothers (Rob, Andy and the late Jim) were involved with myself)\u201d.<\/p>\n

Other well-known side drummers in those by-gone days were the late Tommy Hanlon and his brother Johnny.\u00a0 They played in the band up to the 50s.\u00a0 The late Paddy (Buck) Nolan also played for a few years.\u00a0 Paddy was a well known side drummer.\u00a0 When the band joined the IPBA their first contest was in Howth in a miniature band contest (3 drummers and 4 pipers).\u00a0 They won first prize 30 years ago.\u00a0 The band members that day were James Neary and Bob O\u2019Connor, Drum Sergt. on drums, Ned Byrne; bass drum, Billy Donovan, Andy O\u2019Connor, Jack O\u2019Connor; plm, Tim Keogh.\u00a0 They competed in the world championships in Belfast in 1962 and were placed seventh in their grade on that day.\u00a0 One hundred bands competed on that day.<\/p>\n

Even the scattering of the population from Narraghmore and the surrounding townslands did not succeed in breaking up the band.\u00a0 A couple of Dublin sounding accents can be heard among the younger members but if you dare to question them they can trot out the local family pedigree at top speed.\u00a0 The band currently numbers around 19 members, three of them women, and Jack was proud to proclaim that the Narraghmore pipe band was among the first in the country to include female members.<\/p>\n

The bands very first public appearance was in 1918, at a sports day in Kildoon, and the fixtures attended by the band, be they sporting or social, have not changed a great deal since then.\u00a0 In addition to the adult band members spending a couple of hours rehearsing each Tuesday night, there are also classes for youngsters interested in music \u2013 a factor which will no doubt ensure the continuation of the pipe band tradition in Narraghmore.\u00a0 The children start off using a \u201cpractice chanter\u201d \u2013 a small pipe like a tin whistle, and progress from there.\u00a0 Instruments and uniforms for the band are extremely expensive items.\u00a0 A set of pipes cost \u00a37-1800 and even the special brogue shoes cost around \u00a345 a pair.\u00a0 Drums are not so expensive, but they need to be changed every five years or so.\u00a0 \u201cA few years back, we were playing for a Co. Final in Newbridge and we decided to estimate what we were \u201cworth\u201d on the day.\u00a0 We realised that between the instruments and uniforms, it was around \u00a320,000!\u201d<\/p>\n

Flag days and social functions, as well as payment for some fixtures, keep the band in funds and there will be a fundraising night out at Kellys, Narraghmore, on March 3, prior to the departure for the States on March 9.\u00a0 All members \u2013 young and not so young \u2013 will be travelling at the invitation of a Long Island based band which visited Kildare last year.\u00a0 The Narraghmore Band members entertained the group, called the \u201cSaffron Kilts\u201d, whose members are of Irish descent.\u00a0 The result was the invitation back to New York for St. Patrick\u2019s Day this year.\u00a0\u00a0 There will be a number of engagements during the trip, including two parades at West Hampton and Islip, Long Island, a visit to Boston for another parade and for the really big moment \u2013 the Fifth Avenue parade on St. Patrick\u2019s Day in New York.<\/p>\n

While those involved are looking forward to the prospect of taking a fortnight-long bite at the Big Apple, a lot of work will go into getting the trip organised.\u00a0 Much of the work will fall on pipe major, Martin Dempsey, pipe instructor, Gerry Malone, and drum instructor, John Byrne, along with the committee members \u2013 President, John Kenny, Chairman, Tony Donovan; Secretary, Owen Donovan and members, Jack O\u2019Connor, Eddie Wright, Ned Byrne, Mick O\u2019Brien, John Moloughney and Catherine Clarke.<\/p>\n

On St. Patrick\u2019s Day (especially in New York) every Irish tune in the book gets trotted out\u2026\u2026like, \u201cIt\u2019s A Long Way To Tipperary\u201d.\u00a0 Having heard the history of the Narraghmore Pipe Band, one might also reflect that it\u2019s a long way from Flanagan\u2019s Barn to Fifth Avenue.<\/p>\n

(A \u2018photo accompanies this original extract with the words \u201cNarraghmore Pipe Band in rehearsal for their forthcoming trip to the U.S. for St. Patrick\u2019s Day.)<\/p>\n

Re-typed by Mary Murphy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LEINSTER LEADER MARCH 11 1989 NARRAGHMORE BAND FOR BIG APPLE A period of Irish history remembered for its turbulence succeeded in bringing one lasting asset to the Co. Kildare village of Narraghmore, the Pipe Band, about to take off for the US for a really exciting St. Patrick\u2019s Day celebration was formed back in 1916.\u00a0\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social-history"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Kildare Local Studies","author_link":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/author\/localstudies\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2079"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8006,"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2079\/revisions\/8006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}