Guth & Tuairim, Márta 1980

Furniture Showroom DINING ROOM SUITES -- . SITTING ROOM SUITES - · KITCHEN FURNITURE . - BEDROOM SUITES - FIRESIDE EASY AND ROCKING CHAIRS - COFFEE' TABLES - LOCKERS, etc. For Style And * Quality USED FURNITURE VISIT OUR SHOWROOMS AT Strand Road Fa lea r rach Anse01 Ansiud The Flute Band Tradition in the Rosses On St. Patrick's morning our North-West Donegal Countryside will echo to the sound of F'ifp 11nd Dru.rn mus j8 as it has done for nearly a hundred years. This stirring music will break the tnorni ng s tillness 0 ;: our villages and to,mlands as Anagaire, Doochary, Keadue, Leitir, Mullaghduff, Maghery, Me,mac: r oss and Rann na Feirste Bands begin tlleir annual traditional march to the local churches. They will play, as is the custom, "Faith of Our Fathers" on approaching the chapel and after Mass will entertai.n the congregation with National airs. The mustc w·ill sound most sweetly in the minds of so many of our e-xile s as they dream of the green day back home in Donegal, whether they be in England, Scotland, America or ~orr,e other for flung corner of the Globe. As he explored for gold in the ice and snow of Alaska Mici Mac Gabhann in his autobiography 11 Rotha Mor an t-Saoil 11 tells us how on St. P~trick' s morning ht listened in his mind to the music at home in Donegal. Flute Bands have been around for as long as any of us can remember. Yet Faddy (Mhary) Ward of Keadue, who is one hundred and one years old can remember the first flute coming to his native townland. (Paddy was a rounder member of the Keadue Band). Apparently the emergence of the Bands came as a result of exiles from this area going to work in Scotland. There they discovered Flute Band music and came to admire and love it. They then brought instruments back home where the set about teaching frinds and neighbours to play. At. a time when there was no Radio or Televisi on the interest shown in fife and drum music was understandably great. Sooh many bands were established. As well as the Bands already mentioned there were also. Bands in A cres, Crickamore, Cloughwally, Dungloe, Maghermaolin and Roshine. Very soon the tradition of the Bands going to Mass on St. Patrick 1 s day to perform and play began. Then in the afternoon they marched to the local town - Anagaire and Mullaghduff parading in A nagaire while all the other bands marched to and paraded in Dungloe. As evening apprc,ached the Bands finally marched home. Occasionally they were slightly reduced in numbers at this stage due to the participation of f!Ome members in a practice still fairly popular around these parts i.e. "Drowning the Shamrock". Some of the Bands were disbanded for various reasons but inevitably they would reform. In the early 50's competition was introduced for the first time. On Easter Sunday all roads' led to Dungloe which became the mecca for the annual competition. In the early years of competition the Keadue Band was to establish itself as the leading outfit. Their initial viGtory in confined competition was followed by triumphs in competition open not only to flute Bands but to pipe Bands as well. Mullaghduff and Roshine provided stiff. opposition to Keadue, before the Band, due to .the scourge of emigration went into decline and was eventually disbanded. In the sixties and seventies many bands were to emerge as the leading outfit. Following Keadue's demise, . Mullaghduff became the top Band followed by Doochary whose outstanding percussion section was .due to the tuition of Jarnes McGeehan of Derryhemy. Following Doochary, Maghery reigned for a number of years to be replaced by Leitir who were in turn replaced by Anagaire. The Anaga ire Band a~hieved their success with a variety of music which until then had not been heard from a local band. The i r success was well deserved. Great excitement marked the revival of the Keadue Band ia 1974, many of the old band members returned from Scotland and England to play in the Band on Easter Sunday. Funds were ra i sed, new instruments bought and finally the great revival of the Band was complete in July 1978 when they won the Senior Band competition at the Twin Town's Summer Festival in Ballybofey. This was their first triumph s:nce the g~eat days of the fi£ties and it was to be repeated in Dungloe later that Summer. The tradition of our Flute Bands is quite unique. In no otber part of the Republic can such an array of Flute Bands be found. At a time when much emphasis is put on the culture of local communities perhaps the cultural impnrtance of our Band Tradition is not fully appreciated. However the pleasure given tc many, many people is great. Long may it. continue so. The Poet Robert Browning's lines on fife and drum mus:c sum up well the pleasures and exc i te111ent of it all: "Bang-Whang-Whang goes the Drum, Tootle-Tootle-Tootle the fife, no keeping one's haunches still, it's the greatest pleasure in life". P. Ferry. Llnlocht mac Tlomnachan DHAWINGS <o~ vlOiWS t~a.n.d.Lf' ] 0 ..., rl ..... ;::1 "-< • ..c:: tll1 .D ..... rl 0·.-! bD;::I 1-< .0 <ll Cl) ::;:.-1