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...continued The band took part in all major events which took place in the city and which have since passed into the pages of history. In August 1843, it is said they marched to the Hill of Tara and back, on the occasion of O'Connell's Monster Repeal meeting when it was reputed that over a million people were present. In the past, the St. Patrick's Day Parade was an event which merits the description of being unusual. It is reported that the band assembled at 6.30 in the morning and marched to the parish boundary marked by "Nancy Hands" Pub, the owner of which provided liquid refreshments. Having downed these, they marched back to the village so as to be in good time for 8 o'clock Mass. On one occasion in 1952, at the wedding of Lady Edina Ainsworth to Hans Wellesley Hamilton, the second Lord Holmpatrick not only the employees of the estate, but practically all the residents of the village took part in the celebrations on the lawn of Abbotstown House, with the Blanchardstown Band providing the music. During the festivities, the Band Master at the time Mr Boyne, a former member of the RIC (Royal Irish Constablulary), met a British Army Officer with whom he had served in the First World War, and they well and truly celebrated their reunion. We still have in our library, a collection of music and marches arranged for the band by Mr Boyne. The band headed the Old IRA veterans into O'Connell Street during the 50th Anniversary of the Easter Rising in 1966, and played the Anthem in Croke Park on many occasions. In 1979, on the occasion of the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ireland, the band led the procession of people coming from the west of the City to the Mass in the Phoenix Park. Over half a million people attended the Mass on the day. While we have played for many different organisations and associations, political, religious and sporting the members hold to their own affiliations so much so that during the troubles in Ireland at the beginning of the last century the band stayed neutral, an arrangement which held the band together and suited all, with one exception. It is said that during the Land League Campaign the bands bass drummer got his son, who played the cornet, to stand opposite the RIC Barracks and play all the rebel tunes he knew, and again, on their way to an engagement in Chapelizod he went to the door of the Protestant Church in Castleknock and beat loudly on the bass drum while Divine Service was being held, so much for ecumenism! Our Bandmasters through the years were a Mr O'Driscoll around 1840 whom Dermot Byrne, one of our cornet players is a direct descendant; a Mr Brannigan (Chapelizod); Mr Boyne; next to follow was Mr Ed Smith who was a cornet player under Mr Boyne; Mr J Martin who was trained as a Hibernian School boy; Mr Lynch a member of the original Garda Band and the long defunct Garda Ceili Band; Mr Tommy (Busty) Smith from the Army School of Music; Mr Pat O'Brien ex Army School of Music; Mr Jimmy Lowe, an instructor in the Army School of Music; Mr Billy Byrne, Conductor of the Garda Band and our present Bandmaster Mr Michael Harford, Band Secretary for over 50 years and a former cornet/baritone player. Our first ever uniforms were navy blue with light blue piping and trimmings, bought in 1959, but caps and satchels were worn for 30 years before that. In 1971 we went all "Mod" with a snappy slate-blue blazer and grey slacks followed in 1977 by the more traditional uniform in bottle green with gold trimmings on the jacket & trousers. Our current uniform is a burgundy blazer with black trousers purchased in 1994. Over the last few years we have invested a lot of money in professional quality instruments and while they can cost anything from £1000 to £5000 each we feel that this is one of our highest priorities. Through the years, engagements to play for Dublin Corporation, Dublin County Councils, Dun Laoghaire Borough Council, Bray U.D.C., garden parties, sports meetings, fetes etc. were always welcome as the performance fees helped to keep our funds healthy and our Bank Manager tolerant. The Band is in a very strong position entering the new Millennium and we hope
to continue for quite some time yet and look forward to celebrating 200 years
of Brass Banding in 2026. To conclude we have a poem about the Band that was written
in 1971 by a local bard Tommy Bracken who lived in the Sandpits, Castleknock.
This poem illustrates the affection by which the Blanchardstown Brass Band is
held by the local community.
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