BLUEHAWKS ALL IRELAND CHAMPIONS AGAIN
The Band’s fieldshow unit, the Clonmel Bluehawks were crowned All Ireland Marching Band Champions in Athlone on Sunday 13th September. This is our third victory in four years and our ninth overall. We had a wonderful season winning all four competitions in which we participated and winning all captions in the last two.
This victory is the culmination of many hours of practice commencing with the music for the Les Miserables show last February and moving in May to field practice. The dedication and committment of all is justly rewarded . The music for the show was arranged by former band member Eoin O’Keeffe.
Congratulations to all the band members and especially to Keith Greene , Field Commander and Majella Hewitt Forte, Colorguard Instructor and their assistants. Special thanks to Anthony Lawless who built the wonderful sets for the show.
Best wishes to Keith who is leaving us to go to Australia for a year. He will be sadly missed by all in Banna Chluain Meala for his great energy, professionalism and enthusiasm. We hope to see him back with us in the future
FIELDSHOW 2009
Our new fieldshow Les Miserables has won both competitions we competed in so far, in Arklow and Athlone. The next competition is in Clonmel on Sunday 30th August with the finals being held in Tallaght on 13th September.
US TRIP A GREAT SUCCESS
We had a wonderful time on our recent visit to Chicago and Peoria. 122 of us left Clonmel on 30th June for Chicago. We spent two days sightseeing in that lovely city assisted by our friends the Shanley and McGrath families who reside there.
On 2nd July we left for Peoria and arrived at a park outside the city, on the banks of the Illinois river where we were warmly greeted by the Friends of Clonmel Committee and our host families.
On the evening of 3rd July we performed at a concert at Glen Oak Park to an audience of around 20,000 people which was followed by a wonderful fireworks display. On 4th July we marched in the West Peoria Parade in very heavy rain but were warmly welcomed by crowds of people along the route. That evening we performed at The Riverplex Leisure Complex and later viewed the 4th July fireworks on the banks of the river. Some of our group performed with the local music group at a mass in St Thomas Church on the afternoon of 5th July and we gave our final performance that evening at Shea Stadium to an audience of around 4000 people.
On 6th July our young people enjoyed leisure activities with the host families while the adults went to Springfield to visit the Abraham Lincoln Museum and the Governors Mansion, followed by a lovely party at Bud and Shea Kelley’s house.
Our performances which included concert, marching, fieldshow and traditional music and dance went down very well with our American friends.
We all arrived back in Clonmel at lunchtime on 8th July, tired but filled with memories of the warmth of the people and the friends we made which will live in our hearts forever.
To all on both sides of the Atlantic who contributed in any way to making our trip possible we extend a heartfelt thanks.
New Musical Director
Peter Taylor has been appointed as our Musical Director. Peter has been a member of the Band for over 20 years and we congratulate him on his achievement and wish him every success. We wish to thank Billy Byrne for his excellent contribution as Musical Director over three years and we wish him well for the future.
Special Honour for Tony and Pat
At the end of the Civic Reception the Band gave a special presentation to committee members, Pat Furey and Tony O’Keeffe for long and dedicated service. They were enrolled as lifetime Vice Presidents of the Band. A fitting tribute to two great people.
See some pictures from the night in our gallery.
Civic Reception for Banna
On Friday 19th October. the Mayor Councillor Richie Molloy and the members of Clonmel Borough Council accorded a Civic Reception to Banna Chluain Meala for our contribution to the community over the last 36 years.
We were very proud to receive this honour and wish to thank the Mayor and the Borough Council for a lovely ceremony and excellent hospitality on the night.
See some pictures from the night in our gallery.
Holland Trip 2007 a great sucess
Our trip to Purmerend in Holland from 23rd to 27th August to visit our friends the Willem Eggert Band was a huge success. We had a wonderful time. We wish to thank all the organisers in Purmerend and in particular the members of the Willem Eggert Band, and the community in Zuidoostbeemster for the excellent hospitality which we received.
UPDATE: The entire gallery of our trip to Holland is now online.
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