Gilnahirk Pipe Band

Last night Gilnahirk was treated to its first ever celebration of Burns Night (albeit a day after actual Burns Night) at the Jack Britton Halls.

The night proved to be a great success with the hall jammed full of enthusiastic supporters and friends from all across Northern Ireland.

The support from Gilnahirk Presbyterian Church was clear for all to see - and is very much appreciated by the Band. We have had a long association with the Church and the help from that source in running the event was extremely welcome. The Band was pleased to see the Minister, Rev Stephen Moore enjoying the evening and he was good enough to say Grace before the feasting began.

Special mention should also go to Colin McRoberts who helped out with both the lighting and sound on the night.

The evening folllowed a fairly typical Burns Night format. We had been able to secure the services of Matthew Warrick from the Ulster Scots Community Network, who kicked off proceedings with a vigorous delivery of the Address to a Haggis and the Selkirk Grace.

The most important part of the evening then followed - the food! Haggis, Neeps and Tatties were the predictable but delicious dishes on offer, courtesy of Chef-for-the-night and bass drummer, Michael Harrison. Dessert was trifle, with tea/coffee and shortbread. Judging by the near-spotless plates collected afterwards, the supper went down well.

The programme of entertainment then started, with Matthew being good enough to act as compere and all round genial host.

The first performers were Lara and Leoni, the Highland Dancers, introduced by Olive Dobson. Their display was energetic, informative and well-received by the attentive crowd.

Following them came Iain Carlisle and David McComb, on the accordions. With plenty of familiar tunes and some new ones too, they really got feet tapping and pulses racing round the hall - the boys may have got themselves a few new groupies!

After a quick costume change, the dancers returned for a brief reprise and then Thelma, our Chairman's wife announced the results of the hotly contested Burns Night Quiz and distributed the prizes.

Finally, the Band took to the stage for a run through some of the Pipe Band classics, to warm applause from the crowd. It was gratifying to hear the appreciative remarks made by some of the pipe band afficionados in the audience!

The evening wound up with a boisterous rendition of Auld Lang Syne, led by Iain and David on the accordions and the crowd lingered a while to chat and renew acquaintences before drifting home.

Then began the clear up! The Band has to thank all those friends who stayed behind to help with the less glamourous side of any event!

Major thanks from the membership of the Band have to go to Michael Harrison who, along with his bass drumming duties was the driving force behind the whole event. He dealt with the cookery almost single-handed and it is fair to say that, without him the Night simply wouldn't have come together.

The Band pulled together well to set up the Hall, welcome our guests and perform table-waiting duties. Special mention should also go to Sam and Mrs Kerr who provided the "favours" of tartan brooches for the ladies and heather for the gentlemen.

The thanks would not be complete without a word for our Chairman, Stephen Jackson,  who found himself pulled in every direction as the "go to guy" when anyone had a query or problem. If you need to see an example of how to be cool under pressure, look no further!

So, thanks to all who helped, attended, donated and clapped and cheered in the appropriate places - we really enjoyed entertaining you - and let's hope we see you all again soon!

Gilnahirk will be hosting its first ever Burns Night this coming weekend and we would love it if you could join in the fun!

Over recent years the Band has been lucky enough to be invited to perform at several Burns NIghts (and we will again be taking part in the event at Willowfield this Thursday) but this year we have decided to break out and run our own night.

Our inaugural Burns Night will take place this Saturday coming, 26 January 2012, and will include entertainment from several artists with an Ulster-Scots theme and, of course, the Band will be performing a set or two! The venue is the Jack Britton Hall on the Gilnahirk Road - if you're are unsure of the location, check it out here.

The evening will be a literal feast as well as a cultural one - haggis, neeps and tatties will be the order of the day. If you eat all of your haggis, you may even get a dessert and tea/coffee.

The price for all that entertainment and good food is only £6 - where would you get value like it?

If you want to come aling and support us, drop us a line by email, or leave a message on our Facebook page and we can leave a ticket at the door for you - but make it quick - the tickets are going fast!

Happy New Year to all our friends, family and fans!

2012 was something of a mixed bag for the Band with some disappointing results in the contests attended, but the year drew to an end with much better news and considerable anticipation of what 2013 will bring.

We finish 2012 with new Pipe Major Ricky Newell who has a proven track record of success, an energised drum corps led by Gilnahirk stalwart, Stevie Hoy, and plans to develop the Band even more.

Before January is out, the Band will have hosted its first ever Burns Night (and we will be letting you all know more details on that shortly) and will also be participating in other celebrations of a similar nature in the early part of the year.

The increasing numbers in our ranks have left us with a rather pleasant dilemma - not enough uniforms to fit all the players! As a result, the Band is currently examining the possibility of new uniforms - including a change to the tartan. Again, our internet followers will be amongst the first to know when/if any decision is taken, so watch this space! Don't worry, whatever we do, we will remain distinctive!

All in all, 2013 looks like it has potential to be a great year to be in Gilnahirk Pipe Band, so drop us a line and come join us!

Gilnahirk entered an exciting era last week with the election of new Pipe Major, Richard Newell who hopes to guide the Band back to winning ways.

Annual General Meetings can often be dry affairs in pipe band circles, but Gilnahirk had plenty to be excited about this year. Although the Band had taken to the grass three times last season, the performances had been poorly received by the judges and it was agreed by the entire membership that an infux of new talent and ideas would greatly benefit the loyal membership.

The Band was delighted when Ricky Newell agreed to visit one of our practices a few weeks ago and even more pleased when he decided he would be willing to take over the reigns.

There was unanimous support for the new Pipe Majpr's election to office and outgoing Chief, Mervyn Mayes agreed to stay in the ranks as Pipe Sergeant. Making up the rest of the "management team" for the pipers is Carson Tate, an experienced and talented player in his own right, who was appointed Pipe Corporal.

The Band was again delighted to be asked to play at the opening of the Church Autumn Fair on Saturday 20 October 2012.

Not only did we have the pleasure of playing under blue skies to an appreciative audience, but the ranks were swelled by the presence of P/M Richard Newell - a famous name in Pipe Band circles in Northern Ireland.

P/M Newell has been attending practices and putting the pipers through their paces for a few weeks now and the improvements can already been seen - more importantly - heard! The full Band was not out but those players who were present acquitted themselves well.

Indeed, we like to think that the mugs of tea brought out on a tray at the end of the performance were as good an endorsement as any Judge's Sheet!

It was also great to see Piper Margaret back out with the band, having made a fantastic recovery after her recent nasty injury. Welcome Back!!

Things are really starting to take off for the Band and our sets for next year are now the priority. If you want to be part of these exciting times for Gilnahirk, come along any Monday night at 8pm or drop us an email at join@gilnahirkpipeband.com

Failing that, join our expanding Facebook Fanclub!

Saturday 28th July 2012 saw the last of three trips across the Irish Sea for the European Pipe Band Championships, one of the "Majors" which together are used to decide the Supreme Champions in each of the Grades.

Unfortunately, due to some lacklustre promotion, it seems that the crowds this year were signifcantly down on previous years - notwithstanding the fact that Gilnahirk appeared briefly on the ITV Daybreak programme on the Friday preceding!

The Band was drawn to play number 4 at 15.41 - clashing for the second successive year with the Grade One contest, and thus assuring us of even more meagre crowds.

The Band was further hit with bad luck when one of our most faithful pipers, Margaret, fell victim to a rather nasty accident on the night before the contest, making it impossible for her to play. Get well soon!

Despite the ill fortune, the Band played with heads high and again received a few pleasing comments on the Judges' sheets and will return to the practice rooms with plenty still to work on.

All in all, it was a good day and it is always pleasing to get to walk onto the Grand Finale in your home town to the cheers of supporters. Now back to practice!

The Band took to the Grass on Saturday 21 July for the second time this season under blue skies in Bangor for the North Down Championships.

The weather was kind - the judges, less so.

Due to a couple of missing players, we took to the arena with seven pipers and four side drummers, along with one tenor drummer and, of course, the bass drummer.

However, for the first time in Gilnahirk's long history, we had a female bass player! Leanne joined the band this year and her first ever contest was in Newcastle just a few weeks ago. She is a tenor drummer but showed that she can turn her hand to the bass with considerable skill. Her panache in all aspects of the bass section should be no surprise to those in the know - her husband is none other than Greg, the All-Ireland Championship winning bass drummer from Quinn Memorial Pipe Band!

David Scott, the RSPBA Announcer, made special mention of Greg and Leanne, as the two bands paraded onto the arena together for the Finale.

In terms of the competition itself, the performance was one of two halves. A few jangling nerves meant that the first two tunes were a little unsettled, but once into our stride, the potential in the Band was plain to see - sadly, the judges simply refused to only take into account our second half efforts!

It's fair to say that the high point of the judging sheets was to be found on the Marching and Deportment report which confirmed our cleanliness as top class! They say it's next to Godliness...

Nevertheless, some wise heads in the watching crowd were impressed by the improvements in the Band and the first ever performance of one of our younger members, James Cartledge was another milestone for a Band looking to rebuild and improve with new players.

Next up will be the European Championships at Stormont in one week - plenty of practice between now and then!

Gilnahirk took to the grass for the first time in the 2012 season on Saturday past at Newcastle.

With the weather having been atrocious for the past few days, members had been urged to pack not only their capes, but also snorkelling gear and waders. As it turned out, the conditions were nowhere near as bad as had been predicted and there was only the faintest hint of Ulster mizzle in the air as the Band assembled to warm up.

Numbers were slightly down and we had anticipated a small band hitting the line but matters were made worse when veteran piper, Sam Kerr, was struck down with a bug on Friday night, depriving the Band of a reliable player and "sound man".

Despite the misfortunes, practice went pretty well outside the ring and Gilnahirk strode to the line at Noon - drawn behind Whitewater in a Grade of 14 competitors.

The performance perhaps reflected some of the jitters of the first competition of the year but the Band acquitted itself well and drew compliments from a number of friendly spectators - if only they had been judging!!

The rest of the day was plagued with frequent showers, some quite heavy - although the Contest had concluded by the time the worst of the weather hit Newcastle.

Congratulations are due to Leanne, James and Colin, all of whom made their competitive Gilnahirk débuts and performed with considerable aplomb.

There was another significant début on the day - our new logo, displayed with pride on the Bass Drum head. We will be posting an article later in the season, telling the story behind the design of the new image - every element is significant in the history and origins of the Band - look out for that.

In the meantime, we hope you all like it!

Our next outing should be in Bangor on the 21st July - and then the Europeans at Stormont. You can keep up to date with how the practices are going (along with other Band related nonsense) on Facebook.

The Band was proud to be asked to host a workshop for local bands by the Northern Ireland Branch of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association and the big event took place last night, 12th March.

The Branch has promoted a number of similar events across Northern Ireland and it was a well-thought out programme, ably fronted  by the indefatigable Winston Pollock (of Monkstown Mossley fame).

The Hall was well filled with both Gilnahirk players and a number of very welcome guests from local bands who had been invited along to share the evening.

The expertise bestowed on us came in the the form of two top-class players from the dizzying heights of Grade One. The pipers were treated to a master-class from David Chesney, who needs absolutely no introduction. He patiently worked with the players to improve sound from chanters and drones and answered every question asked of him, explaining every step he was taking so that the pipers should be able to replicate the process when left to their own devices.

The drummers were by no means left out. Their expert tutor was Neil Ussher of Ravara fame. Again, Neil was completely approachable and no query was too basic. He worked his magic with the drums and again took it slowly, explaining each step and illustrating his points by referencing his own experiences in the pipe band world.

The drummers were also treated to an old boy of Gilnahirk making an appearance. Graham Turner started his drumming career with Gilnahirk and went on to achieve huge success, perhaps most notably with Ballycoan. The benefit of having Graham along as well as Neil was plain to see.

A feature of the night was the great grace of the experts in sharing their own tips and tricks. There was a great sense of working together toward a common goal - a great sound.

After the gurus had worked their magic, the band was pulled back together to play a couple of tunes - and the difference was clear to all present. The balance of the band had improved immeasurably and several of the guests commented that they had not heard Gilnahirk produce such a great sound for many years.

After a cup of tea and the chance for some informal chat, the evening was rounded off with a Question and Answer session, which probably could have gone on all night! The questions ranged much wider than the issue of "tonal balance" and the topics included recruitment for lower grade bands, pitch and equipment choices. By 11.30pm, everyone started to realise that they had to go to work in the morning and the night was drawn to a close!

The Band would like to record formally its gratitude to the Branch for asking us to host this incredibly useful event. Winston, David and Neil gave generously of themselves and Gilnahirk will be a better band for the experience - we thank you all, gentlemen. The Branch has taken a bold step to work with bands to improve the general standard of play and sound - and they should be warmly congratulated for doing so. We certainly hope that this is not the last time that we will have the chance to stage such an event.

 

The Band was delighted to be asked back for the third straight year to play at Willowfield Parish Church for their (couple of days late!) Burns Night.

The Willowfield Burns Night has become a fixture in the East Belfast cultural calendar and this year was as successful an event as ever. The Church was packed with enthusiastic souls who gleefully demolished the Haggis Neeps and Tatties which form the centrepiece of any good Burns Night.

Sadly, the Band was warming up when the vittels were being dished out - but the playing was its own reward tonight. Gilnahirk took the stage with 8 pipers, 5 side drummers, 2 tenor drummers and the bass. We had début performances from Leanne on the Tenor and Colin on the Pipes. Along with the rest of the team, they played brilliantly and we hope that they will be fixtures on the Gilnahirk Roster for many years to come!

The Band will now be concentrating on the Contest sets for the 2012 season - but it's not too late to come and join us! If you fancy giving it a go, contact us by email on join@gilnahirkpipeband.com or through Facebook.

Video footage of the night is live on YouTube but here is a taster....