Imagine the setting – a partly forested mountain stretching down to the sea, kilt clad adults ambling about the promenade while their kilt clad children mob the ice cream trucks on an uncharacteristically sunny day.
No, this is not some Scottish Highlands shin-dig, rather it was the Heart of Down piping competition in Newcastle – a wonderful setting for what seemed to be an anonymous event as there was very little in the way of advertising or signage (and an old bloke in the pub with a strong Ulster Scots accent was completely unaware, I’d have thought him to be psychically attuned to such events…).
I took my children to this gig, partly to have a day out, partly to get out of Mrs Ghobsmacht’s hair for the day and partly because I wanted them to be exposed to a culture that was very much part of my life over 30 years ago – I’d spent a couple of summers going every weekend to a different competition with my local pipe band and it was quite a wholesome way to spend the summer.
The first thing to hit my now more opportunistic mind was “why is this not being punted by the tourism board?!”, there were a few tourists there, but probably they just followed their ears while ambling around the southern part of the main promenade.
While Newcastle on a sunny August Saturday probably doesn’t need many more tourists nonetheless it’s a valid train of thought, this is a very marketable and enjoyable day – you can come and go as you please so you don’t have to spend 6 hours witnessing every single band, and there’s competitions in various locations throughout NI.
Another thing that struck me was the presentation – how well presented everyone was with regards to their dress.
For Joe Public there were numerous catering vans, some retail vans and plenty of places to set up shop in the forms of deck chairs and or picnic blankets.
I was happy to let my 2 boys run around, free range, such was the community atmosphere of the spectacle.
In fact, I gave them a little mission, to track down someone from my school who was a highly regarded drummer even when we were teens, to anyone familiar with the piping world then the name ‘Big Rab’ may be familiar on account of his piping podcast:
https://bigrabshow.podbean.com/
It was reassuring to know that there are many people like Rab keeping this show on the road, it’s not an easy task, bands frequently fall by the wayside.
It made me wonder about the appeal of pipe bands in general, according to Big Rab it’s flourishing in Scotland but merely “percolating” in NI, this is the mirror opposite of 30 years ago.
In Dublin airport t2 business lounge there are old photos of big events at the airport from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and there is a smattering of pipers to be seen for welcoming guests. Is this still a thing?
Irish American parades seem to have a significant number of pipe bands, especially their police forces, so pipe bands seem to be seen as a very Irish thing over there (is this the case, I ask those who lived there?).
While old hip-hop videos are as a rule perhaps not the most sound barometer of what a culture holds dear I don’t think that this old video of House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ is significantly off the mark for its time and place:
So, in the north I presume they’re mainly viewed as a Protestant thing? I would posit that their attendance at 12th parades would galvanise such thinking?
If so, what could be done to bring the appeal back into Irish nationalist culture or indeed the middle ground (a ‘Pipes & Drums of the APNI’ anyone?), as they definitely were a ‘thing’ once upon a time outside of Protestantdom?
The potential for reinvigorating the scene should it have an uptick in (nominal) Catholic participation is immense, having said that perhaps it’s already occurring (I should’ve asked Big Rab…), I did clock a couple of GAA tops at the contest, if that’s at all noteworthy?
It is by all accounts a good culture to get into and I was delighted to see so many young folk in the bands.
Below is a link to the exit parade video:
Now, speaking of Catholics, Newcastle and bands ,the Hibernian march is in Newcastle on Sunday the 17th of august, were in in NI then I would definitely attend (I think the kids are being dragged there again, by their mother this time).
Found way down the food chain, a ‘middle of the road’ creature that is attacked by creatures from either side of the political jungle, from the bottom feeding ‘Republicanus hypocriticus’ better known as the ‘common shinner’ to the chameleonic ‘Unionisus opportunitisticus’, better known as a ‘Dooper’.
Known to feed on single celled organisms such as ‘Rangerophilus fanus’ and ‘neque Deditionem’ better known as ‘no surrenders’ and occasionally surfacing during rutting season to lock horns with ‘MOPEus Eternus’, better known by their moniker ‘MOPEs’.
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