Dunoon Argyll Pipeband was delighted to accept an invitation to play in concert in New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland on Saturday 25th October 2008. The Celtic Weave Concert has been performed by New Ross and District Pipe Band and guests in London, New York and Lithuania, so we were particularly honoured to be invited to join them for their performance in their home town. Although our drummers were unable to attend, the Pipers gave an excellent performance, accompanied by kit drumming and guitar, to great effect.
They then joined in with the New Ross Pipe Band, who performed with several singers, including John Aspel, previously of the well known Irish folk band, The Emeralds. The audience really enjoyed the combination of traditional singing and Irish dancing, but the Finale saved the best to last, when everyone joined in for a re-run of the set performed by the Irish contingent each year at the Interceltique Festival in Lorient, Brittany. The encore was a rousing rendition of The Galway Girl, which is a HUGE hit presently in Ireland, and has been released by Sharon Shannon and a whole host of people.
This trip was a huge success for Dunoon Argyll Pipeband, and a lot was learnt about how to take a pipe band to a new level of performance. This is something the current Pipe Major Colin Prentice is very keen to develop, so with the experience from this trip, and his experience from his years in the National Youth Pipe Band, there are lots of exciting things going on within the Pipe Band. We also had time for some sightseeing, by day and by night, and enjoyed some fantastic Irish hospitality both in New Ross and Dublin. All in all, this was a fantastic trip, and one we hope to have the opportunity to do again. Here’s a flavour of the ‘sightseeing!’
Sounds like you all had a great time…
Comment by scoada37 — January 30, 2009 @ 1:25 pm