We had a number of engagements starting with the St. Patricks Day parade which continues to improve in spectacle year on year. There were engagements at the Fairgreen, in the castle for visiting E.U. dignitaries and at the Carlingford Oyster Festival. The band took part in three National Band Championships. The Irish Association of Brass and Concert Bands championships in Wexford. The South of Ireland band championships in Clonakilty, which turned out to be a great social weekend for all concerned, and the Northern Ireland Band Championships in which the Ardee members were narrowly beaten for 1st place. There was a very successful band exchange when St.Eugenes Concert Band from Omagh took part in a concert in Ardee earlier in the year and the Ardee members reciprocated recently by taking part in a concert in Omagh. Four Ardee members, Paul O Brien, Ben Lawlor, Oisin Clarke and Vincent McArdle travelled to Chicago and Boston with the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland and performed in Chicago and Boston Symphony Halls. Our tenor sax player, Adam Byrne, took part in a concert for young high achievers and accredited himself extremely well. Our Junior Band is under the capable hands of John Gaynor and is making excellent progress. The yearly review clearly shows that the Ardee Concert Band is a very vibrant and forward moving organization. Bingo continues to be our main source of fundraising and we thank all our loyal bingo players for their support throughout the year as well as all who contributed to our church gate collection.
Annual Concert.
By the time of going to print, our annual concert will have taken place with supporting artists, the Castletown Accordion Orchestra. If following recent annual concert trends it will be a most musical and enjoyable night.
Youth Activities.
On Sun 9th Dec. the Youth Committee, ably assisted by Fiona Reilly will be bringing all our young members to the Odyssey. It is a world renowned W5 (who, what, where, when, why) exhibition, with an added Christmas exhibition.
Through the year a very large amount of young people have applied to join the band, at the moment we have 29 on recorder. The total amount in the band is 125 including adults, learners etc. 85 of these are under 18 years of age which looks extremely well for the future of the band.
Christmas Engagements
On Wed. 19th we will be performing at a Carol Service in Carlingford for Fr. Shevlin. The band members performed at this last year and a very enjoyable nights music took place. We will also perform at our annual Carol Service here in Ardee in the Church of the Nativity on Sun 23rd Dec. We also play carols on the town on Christmas Eve and play at noon mass on Christmas day. Some members will also be playing in Moorehall Lodge Nursing Home on Christmas Eve. Come out and enjoy some of the above. It will help you get into the true spirit of Christmas and escape some of the commercialism for a short while.
Finally, I would like to wish a musical, peaceful and a happy Christmas to all our friends and supporters, here in Ardee and further afield.