 On Saturday 26th September, some committee members from Newbridge Comhaltas along with several students from the Irish Language class went to Belfast on a cultural excursion. The trip consisted of visits to places of interest starting with St. Georges Market, then onto artist Eamon Maguire's studio on the Falls Road, Crumlin Road Jail Museum, An Culturlann for a beautiful lunch and finally to a couple of historic pubs, Kellys Cellars and Madden's Bar in the city centre. Additional photos of the day can be viewed in the Gallery page. Many thanks to Magherafelt District Council who gave a donation for the outing and also to Newbridge Comhaltas who also very generously contributed to the expenses. The day was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
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September 2009
A new season of activities gets under way in October, beginning with our monthly session on Thursday, 1st October. The junior/learner session commences at 7:30pm while the more experienced players follow around 9:00pm.
The Irish Language classes resume on Friday, 2nd October, at 7:00pm. The venue for these classes has been changed to the Comhaltas room, and they will run weekly, with the exception of the following three dates when the singing class will be using the room - 9th October, 13th November and 11th December.
On Saturday, 3rd October, at 10:00am, registration for our music classes takes place in the Comhaltas room. This term, in addition to tin whistle, we're offering classes in fiddle and banjo/mandolin. All classes will begin on Saturday 10th October at 10:00am. The venue(s) for the classes will be decided following registration. The cost for the 10 week term is £30 per student (additional family members pay £20 each) plus branch membership fee (£4 per child, £8 per adult) - see
Membership tab for more details. Existing members can renew their membership at this time and, of course, new members are always welcome.
Our AGM will be held in the Comhaltas room on Tuesday evening, 6th October, at 9:00pm following the monthly committee meeting. All members are welcome to attend.
The traditional singing class resumes on Friday, 9th October, at 7:30pm in the Comhaltas room. Mairead Walls will be returning to take the class, which will also be held on Friday, 13th November and Friday, 11th December.
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It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Paddy McGarry. Paddy's death on Friday 11th September, at home following a short illness, has robbed us of one of our most cherished, dedicated and long serving committee members. An honourable, unassuming and genteel man who never sought recognition or reward for his work, Paddy's voluntary contribution to our organisation (and the GAA) was immense. His passion and committment to Irish culture was evidenced by his efforts in the promotion, operation and, at times, survival of our local branch. He will be sorely missed by all associated with Comhaltas in Newbridge and further afield. Our sincere sympathies are extended to his wife, children, wider family circle and friends. The huge attendance at his funeral on Sunday 13th September was testament to his esteem within the community and, as a mark of respect, the workshops planned for that day in Anahorish Primary School were cancelled. |
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Eight of the ten members of the Newbridge Ceili Band performed on the opening night of fUSe FM in Maghera on Tuesday, 25th August. Broadcasting for just 10 days, and to an audience restricted to within a 10 mile radius of Maghera, this non-profit, community based station highlighted local musicians, history and culture.
Five members of the band were joined by a session drummer and bass player at the station marquee on Wednesday evening, 2nd September, for a concert. (Un)fortunately, no footage is available of this event, but will be posted if it turns up.
August 2009
The next Comhaltas event will be an afternoon of workshops to be held in Anahorish Primary School on Sunday 13th September. Classes will be available in Irish language, traditional singing and tin whistle. There will be 2 sessions in each workshop (12:00-13:30 and 14:30-16:00), and a light lunch will be provided between sessions. Registration begins at 11:30. Both beginners and experienced pupils will be catered for in all classes and there is the opportunity to switch between the tin whistle and traditional singing classes after lunch. The cost for the afternoon is £10, with additional family members paying half price. Tin whistles will be available for any beginner who doesn't have one and the tutors for the classes are as follows:
Irish Language : Roisin McTeague and Deaglan O'Doibhlin
Tin Whistle : Lisa Murray and Kevin O'Kane
For additional information, contact
Theresa Cassidy on 07515108164 or Colette McGlone on 02879650408. Alternatively, use
Contact Us to leave any queries. Click
here to view the event poster.
Our monthly sessions are due to resume on Thursday, 1st October, with the junior/learner session beginning at 7:30 and the seniors taking over around 9:00.
Tin whistle classes start again on Saturday, 10th October, at 10:00am. Paula McGlone is returning to take this class and newcomers are welcome.
We are hoping to offer classes in fiddle and banjo/mandolin this year. Further details will be published in early September. In the meantime, if you are interested in either of these classes, or would like to see classes in a different instrument, please let us know by using
Contact Us
At the All-Ireland fleadh in Tullamore on Saturday, 22nd August, several members of our branch competed in the U-12 Grupai Ceoil competition as members of Ulster champions, Ceoltoiri Crosskeys (see picture below). Despite performing well, they were unplaced in the competition. Our thanks go to all those who supported and encouraged the children throughout the year, especially their mentors Bronagh McGlone and Ann Meyer. For a full list of winners from Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann 2009, click
here.
July 2009
The last weekend in July saw Castlewellan host Fleadh Uladh for the second year in a row. The weather was mostly fine, allowing the large crowds to enjoy the high quality music, singing and dancing both inside and outdoors. Newbridge CCE were represented in the competitions by their senior ceili band, Maria Walls in the 12-15 ladies singing, Lauren Stewart in the U-12 flute and Hugh Mulholland in the 15-18 banjo (Fearghal Close couldn't compete in the U-12 accordion despite qualifying as he was on a family holiday). Although none were placed in their competitions, the experience was invaluable, enjoyable and will hopefully inspire them all to practice hard for next year's competitions. On behalf of the branch and all the competitors, our thanks go to all those who supported our efforts, and in particular those who made the long trip to Castlewellan.
For the record, the senior ceili band consisted of:
Maureen McGlone - Fiddle
Adrian O'Kane - Fiddle
Maureen Quinn - Flute
Amanda Monaghan - Flute
Ciaran McGuckin - Button Accordion
Hilary Scott - Piano Accordion
Damian Walls - Banjo
Kevin O'Kane - Banjo
Una McCorry - Piano
John Agnew - Drums
Other members and supporters of our branch achieved success as part of Ceoltoiri Crosskeys. Congratulations to Emma McGlone, Caoimhe Purvis, Lauren Stewart and Caoimhe O'Kane who are all members of the Ulster U-12 Grupai Ceoil winning team (pictured below). The girls now travel to Tullamore in Co. Offaly for the All-Ireland final on Saturday, 22nd August, and will be joined by Fearghal and Donal Close who missed the Ulster final due to a family holiday.
Well done, also to Hugh Mulholland and Aisling Dougan who competed with the 15-18 Grupai Ceoil and achieved third place in their competition.
We are holding workshops in tin whistle, traditional singing and Irish language on Sunday, 13th September. There will be two sessions in all classes, and to facilitate beginners and allow all pupils to experience a variety of disciplines, it will be possible to participate in more than one class. For example, pupils can attend a tin whistle class in the morning and a traditional singing class in the afternoon (or vice versa).
Maranna McCloskey has been confirmed as the tutor for the traditional singing workshop. Additional information on the venue, other tutors and fees will be posted soon.
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Our "annual" sponsored walk was held at Cot Lane and Gort Moss Walk in Ballinderry on Saturday 4th July.
Pictured here are some of those who participated. |
June 2009
The final traditional singing class of this term will be on Friday 19th June at 7:30pm in the Comhaltas Room. Our thanks to Mairead Walls for her hard work and encouragement of the children since the classes started last autumn.
Irish Language classes have also finished for the summer. A date of Friday, 9th October has been pencilled in for their resumption. It is hoped that Áine will again be able to take the classes. A venue for them will be confirmed later.
Tin whistle classes continue until the end of the month, and will then take a break until autumn. We are hoping to offer additional classes next term and would invite suggestions or enquiries to gauge demand for various instruments. Use the
Contact Us link with any comments.
The Antrim Fleadh in Ballycastle on 16th May featured a few of our local musicians who took part in the Grupai Ceoil competition representing Ceoltoiri Crosskeys. Both the U-12 and 15-18 groups came second in their competitions and qualify for the Ulster fleadh in July.
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At the Yew Tree Feis in Ahoghill on Saturday 30th May, pupils and members of Newbridge CCE were successful in the traditional music section. Pictured here are the prizewinners in the P1-P3 tin whistle competition, including winner Caoimhe O'Kane and Maitiú Cairns who tied for third place.
At the same venue later in the day, Caoimhe Purvis won the P6-P7 fiddle competition.
The following morning, the same trio travelled to Dunloy for Feis na nGleann. On this occasion, both girls achieved second place in their respective competitions while Maitiú, despite playing very well, was unplaced. |
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Congratulations to Caoimhe O'Kane (U-9 tin whistle), Maria Walls (12-15 singing) and the Newbridge CCE ceili band (senior ceili band), all winners at Fleadh Cheoil Dhoire, held in Ballinascreen on Saturday, 6th June. Maria and the ceili band now compete in the Ulster fleadh in Castlewellan at the end of July. Joining them will be Lauren Stewart (U-12 flute), Fearghal Close (U-12 accordion) and Hugh Mulholland (15-18 banjo), who all came second in their categories.
Just missing out on an Ulster final place were the U-12 trio of Aoife Gribbin, Caoimhe O'Kane and Caoimhe Purvis who came third, as did Aisling Dougan in the 15-18 tin whistle competition.
Well done, also, to Donal Close and Aoife Gribbin who made the final 6 in the U-9 tin whistle competition, and to Caoimhe Purvis who was in the top 5 in the U-12 fiddle competition, excellent achievements considering that these competitions each attracted between 20 and 30 entrants.
Other competitors who performed well on the day, but failed to make the top three were U-12 singers Aoife Stinson, Emer Stinson and Caoimhe O'Kane, and the U-12 duet of Caoimhe O'Kane and Caoimhe Purvis.
On Sunday, 7th June, a youth concert was held in St Colm's High School in Ballinascreen as part of the fleadh programme. Most Comhaltas branches in the county were represented in what was a high quality display of musical talent. Congratulations to all involved in the organisation of the event and to all the performers, in particular the Newbridge CCE group which consisted of Hugh Mulholland, Aoife Gribbin, Caoimhe O'Kane, Lauren Nugent and Aoife and Dervla Stinson.
Plans are well advanced for both the sponsored walk on Saturday, 4th July, and the workshops on Sunday, 13th September. Sponsorship forms for the walk are available
here, while information on the tutors and other details regarding the workshops will be published soon.
May 2009
The final Irish Language class of the season will be held in the Parish Centre on Friday 15th May at 7:00pm. It is hoped that the classes with Aine will resume in the autumn.
The next traditional singing class is on Friday, 29th May at 7:30pm in the Comhaltas Room while tin whistle classes continue each Saturday morning at 10:00 until the end of June.
Members of our branch were involved in the local
Sean O'Leary GAC's Lá na gClub celebrations on Sunday 10th May, providing entertainment for the large crowds. Junior and senior members sang and played at different times during the afternoon while senior members were among those who played at the ceili that closed proceedings in the evening. Some members also played at club celebrations in Swatragh.
A sponsored walk to raise funds is currently being planned for Saturday, 4th July. Sponsorship forms and further information will be available here soon.
It is also intended to have a day of workshops on Sunday, 13th September. As with last year's workshops, Irish language and traditional singing will be catered for, with the addition this year of tin whistle classes. A session will then be held in the Comhaltas Room. Further information to follow.
Finally, good luck to all those competing in the Derry Fleadh in Ballinascreen on 6th June, and also to those from this branch representing Ceoltoiri Crosskeys in the various Grupai Ceoil competitions at the Antrim Fleadh in Ballycastle on 16th and 17th May.
April 2009
Following the Easter break, classes are resuming, starting with the traditional singing class with Mairead Walls on Friday, 24th April at 7:30pm in the Comhaltas Room. The following morning, on Saturday, 25th April at 10:00am, the tin whistle classes return for a 10 week term with Paula McGlone, also in the Comhaltas Room. Aine Murphy will host a few more Irish language classes before breaking for the summer, but no date has been set yet for these. Newcomers to the classes are always welcome.
A group of our junior musicians represented the branch at the Anam Ceol youth concert in Dungiven on March 14th - see the
Gallery section for pictures.
The Derry Fleadh will be held in Ballinascreen on Saturday, 6th June. Rules for the various competitions can be viewed and downloaded from the
Fleadh Information page. Anyone wishing to enter any of the competitions should contact
Theresa Cassidy by email or on 07515108164 or use the
Contact Us link above before 15th May. Good luck to all the local competitors.
Several junior members and supporters of Newbridge CCE recently represented the local Sean O'Leary's GAC in the GAA's Scor na nOg competition. The club entered competitors in the Solo Singing, Recitation, Instrumental Music and Question Time sections of the event. The semi-final took place in Slaughtneil on Saturday, 21st November, and involved eight clubs, with the top two from each competition qualifying for the final. Before a full house, Emer Stinson sang beautifully in the Solo Singing competition, but the only qualifiers from the club for the final were Shauna McGrogan in the Recitation and the Instrumental Music group consisting of Darren McPeake, Emma McGlone, Alexander Meyer, Kevin McPeake and Caoimhe O'Kane. At the county final in Glenullin on Saturday, 28th November, Shauna was awarded first place and qualified for the Ulster semi-final while the instrumental music group came second in their competition. Congratulations and thanks to the group for their hard work in recent weeks and to Paula McGlone for her help in preparing the group for the Scor.
At the first monthly session of the new season on Thursday, 1st October, several former committee members were recognised for their many years of service to Comhaltas locally. Chairperson Colette McGlone presented paintings of traditional musicians by Belfast artist Eamon Maguire to Bridie Gribbin, John Murphy (pictured) and Kevin Walls. A similar presentation was made to Hugh McGarry, brother of the late Paddy. Following the presentations, Lisa Murray played a slow air on the tin whistle in memory of Paddy. Pictures of all the presentations can be found in the 
