St Colman’s Pipe Band, Ballindaggin, is celebrating 70 years of existence and they were honoured with a civic reception by Enniscorthy Municipal District Council at the Presentation Centre, Enniscorthy, on Friday evening.

Cathaoirleach Cllr Kathleen Codd-Nolan welcomed the band members and their families and told them that a civic reception is the highest honour the chair and elected members can bestow on any individual or group.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to publicly recognise and acknowledge the tremendous achievement of St Colman’s Pipe Band musicians, celebrating their contribution as an integral part of the social and community fabric and tradition of Ballindaggin and the wider Enniscorthy district,” said Cllr Codd-Nolan, who added; “Over the years the club has grown its membership from its initial foundation in 1949, followed by the inclusion of women to the band in the 1960s and today has members young and old.”

In conclusion, Cllr Codd-Nolan stated; “I wish to congratulate St Colman’s Pipe Band, its Chairman Pat Armstrong, the members and all associated with the band in Ballindaggin who have served, not only their community, but the Enniscorthy municipal district as our ambassadors, both at local and international level.”

A POTTED HISTORY OF ST COLMAN’S PIPE BAND, BALLINDAGGIN

St. Colman’s Pipe Band first took up the pipes or drums seventy years ago, after a group of young local men (including Thomas Cloney, Martin Rafter, John Furlong and Hugh Doyle) were inspired to start the band after a trip to Astor Cinema in Enniscorthy coming up to Christmas time, where they were impressed by the music of a pipe band competition on the cinema screen. They had also witnessed the 150th anniversary celebrations of the 1798 Rebellion earlier that year. And from that cinema trip the idea to form a pipe band was first brought about.

In 1949 a band was formed with Martin Rafter, Tom Cloney, Thomas Cowman, Owen Cloney, Hugh Doyle, Paidin Doyle, Peter Murphy, James Jordan, Pat Stafford, Pat McCann, Dick O’Neill, Pat Kehoe, Michael Tobin, Thomas Doyle, Peter Furlong, Jimmy Dunne, Mick Byrne, Liam Jordan, Owen Doyle, Thomas Bolger, Pat Forrestal, Pat Breen and Owen Keating.

Several dances, raffles and other events were held locally to raise money to buy equipment and uniforms, and the band’s first appearance in public was at the Seamus Rafter Commemoration in Enniscorthy in 1950. More than 20 young men were there to march – but only two were playing pipes! Another carried a set of pipes but didn’t play them; two others had drums; there was the staff man up front; and the rest of the members simply marched behind.

Things quickly progressed from there as the 1950s went on though, with the band becoming a far slicker operation through sourcing ‘proper’ uniforms for the first time as well as adding extensively to its repetoire of both tunes and equipment. Some members were lost to emigration as that decade went on, but a number of new recruits – many of whom are still active with the band – came on board in the early 1960s, and the band continued to be a regular sight as events such as field and sports days, GAA matches, parades, and the like. One of the highlights of that time was playing at the All-Ireland Fleadh Ceoil when it was held in Gorey in 1962, while the ‘sixties’ were also notable in that those years saw women joining the band for the first time. Mary Cowman and Marion Cody were the trail blazers and were followed into the ranks over the years by many others.

The band was involved in celebrations held in Enniscorthy in 1989 to mark the 200th anniversary of Bastille Day. Later, they performed for President Mary Robinson in Enniscorthy in 1993, before the busiest time of all came round in the shape of 1798 Bicentenary Year.

The band joined pikemen and other bands at no fewer than 48 parades throughout counties Wexford, Carlow, Meath, Wicklow and Dublin that year, and had to turn down invitations to appear in many others, out of times clashing and distances between events being too great. Such a busy year gave them the spur they needed to keep performing regularly, and the band is now out several times a year, while they have also clocked up substantial air miles through performing in the St. Patrick’s Day parades in Chicago 2000, New York 2007, Birmingham (three – 2001, 2005, 2010) and London (six – 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018).

In recent years the band has been going from strength to strength with new members joining regularly. The band purchased new kilts in 2014 where they got their first wearing in Courtnacuddy which rejuvenated the look of the band. An Irish Tartan was chosen with it’s green, white and gold colouring instead of the Red of the Royal Stewart of 1950’s. 

2016 saw St. Colman’s Pipe Band play in the 100^th Celebration of the 1916 Easter Rising which was a monumental day in Enniscorthy.

Within the last year the band played at the opening of both playgrounds in Ballindaggin and Kiltealy.

As the band goes into its 71st year, it’s in a stronger position than ever, with a large number of young members keeping up the tradition and honing their skills at practice sessions in the village hall each Monday night under the tutelage of Patricia Brooks (pipes) and Jack Cowman and Jim Byrne (drums). The band has already had numerous outing s this year and have Kiltealy Patron, Flag Day in Bunclody, county GAA finals and turning on the Christmas Lights in Blackwater still to look forward to.