Due to the weather, December's monthly music session has been cancelled. Our next session will be on Thursday, January 6th at 7:30pm and 9:00pm. The traditional singing class on 26th November was also cancelled and has been rescheduled for Friday, 14th January at 7:30pm in the Comhaltas Room.

 

Again, because of the weather, there were no music classes on 4th December, so the final day of classes before the Christmas break is now on Saturday, 18th December. They will resume for another 10-week term on Saturday, 8th January.

Well done to all from Newbridge CCE who represented the local GAC at the county Scor finals in Swatragh on Sunday, 5th December, particularly the Instrumental Music team (pictured above) who won their competition. They were ultimately unsuccessful in the Ulster semi-final in Newry on Saturday, 11th December but performed well and were placed first by one of the adjudicators and second by the other two.

 

The next monthly session will be on Thursday, 2nd December, at the usual times of 7:30 and 9:00. Below are a couple of pictures taken at the November senior session.

The Derry Scor na nOg final scheduled for Sunday, 28th November, had to be cancelled due to the adverse weather conditions. Several of our members had taken part in the semi-final in Glenullin the previous week, representing the local Sean O'Leary's GAC, who entered the Solo Singing, Recitation, Instrumental Music, Ballad Group and Quiz competitions. Despite performing well, the Recitation and Ballad Group acts failed to qualify for the final. The other entries will compete in the final which has now been fixed for Sunday, 5th December, in Swatragh at 3:00pm.

 

 

At the AGM on 19th October, reports were delivered by the chairperson, secretary, treasurer, PRO (and Assistant PRO!). Mary Mulholland presided over the election of officers for the forthcoming year, a full list of which can be viewed on our Committee page.

 

The next traditional singing class will be on Friday, 26th November, at 7:30pm in the Comhaltas Room. Before that, November's monthly session will be on Thursday, 4th November at 7:30pm (junior) and 9:00pm (senior).

 

Members are reminded that membership fees for 2010/11 are now due and can be paid to any committee member.

 

Saturday's music classes are taking a break for Haloween on 30th October and will resume on 6th November. 

 

Our AGM will be held in the Comhaltas Room on Tuesday, 19th October at 9:00pm. All members are invited to attend.

 

 

Following registration for our music classes, we would ask all tin whistle students to come to the Comhaltas Room for 10:30 on Saturday, 2nd October. Following a short assessment, they will be split into two groups and, from next week, one group will start at 10:30, the other at 11:00. The banjo class will meet in the Committee Room at 10:30 and the fiddle class at the same venue at 11:00.

 

Our Saturday morning traditional music classes are set to resume on 2nd October for a 10-week term leading up to Christmas. In addition to tin whistle and banjo/mandolin classes, we are also offering fiddle tuition for beginners. Times for the classes will be finalised once the number of pupils has been determined. To this end, a registration evening will be held in the Comhaltas Room on Tuesday, 28th September, at 7:30pm, when class and membership fees will be collected. The cost of the 10-week course is £30 for the first member of a family and £20 for additional members. Membership costs £4 for juniors, £8 for adults and £14 for families - see the Membership tab for further information.

 

Registration is also required for the Irish Language class which, this year, will be held in the Comhaltas Room on Wednesday nights from 7:00pm - 8:30pm. Again, there will be a 10-week term and the fees above apply here as well. This class may not be suitable for beginners, so it's advisable to contact Theresa Cassidy (07515108164) for more details.

 

The first monthly session of the season will be on Thursday, 7th October. As usual, junior/learner musicians are welcome to come along from 7:30pm and the senior session begins around 9:00pm.

 

The monthly traditional singing class also returns in October. Registration is not necessary for these classes, the first of which will be on Friday, 22nd October, in the Comhaltas Room at 7:00pm.

 

 

Congratulations to Newbridge CCE junior members Caoimhe O'Kane and Molly Walls, and to all the friends and supporters of our branch who played with them in Ceoltoiri Crosskeys U-12 Grupai Cheoil, as they won third place at the All-Ireland Fleadh in Cavan on Saturday night, 21st August. It was a remarkable achievement considering the young age of most of the group, and was just reward for the tremendous efforts of the children and their families over the past few months. Particular credit, and our thanks, to all at Ceoltoiri Crosskeys for the opportunities and encouragement they've given to the children, especially the U-12 mentors Bronagh McGlone, Anne Meyer and Bernie Kelly.

Another medal winner at the fleadh was our treasurer, Kevin O'Kane, who competed in the senior flute band competition with the Cloney Flute Band who finished second.

 

Unfortunately, the Ceoltoiri Crosskeys 15-18 Grupai Cheoil, which included Aisling Dougan from Newbridge, was unplaced in its competition at the fleadh.

 

More pictures from the fleadh can be viewed at our Gallery page.

 

Well done to all those from Newbridge who participated at the Ulster Fleadh in Castlewellan on Saturday and Sunday, 24th and 25th July. Representing Newbridge CCE were the U-12 trio of Molly Walls, Nicole Nugent and Aoife Gribbin. Caoimhe O'Kane sang in the U-12 ladies singing (in English), while at O-18 level, Hugh Mulholland competed in the banjo competition and our Ceili Band played in the senior ceili band competition, the final event of the weekend. Although none of our competitiors were successful in any of these competitions, they acquitted themselves well and will look forward to next year's fleadh with increased confidence as a result of this year's efforts.

 

Several members from our branch have qualified for the All-Ireland Fleadh as a result of being members of different Ceoltoiri Crosskeys Grupai Cheoil. Molly Walls and Caoimhe O'Kane played in the U-12 group that came second and Aisling Dougan was in the winning 15-18 group. Kevin O'Kane also qualified as a member of the winning Cloney Flute Band in the senior flute band section. Good luck to them all at the All-Ireland Fleadh which is to be held this year in Cavan Town on 21st and 22nd August.

 

In addition to the competitions, the fleadh provided the opportunity for young and old to socialise, play music together and enjoy the festival atmosphere. Aided by the good weather, this was particularly in evidence on the Saturday evening as young musicians from Derry and Antrim joined forces to play in an open air session before going off to watch the spectacular parade and fireworks.

 

 

On the previous day, Saturday 12th May, conditions were perfect for what turned out to be a very enjoyable sponsored walk. Pictured (below) are some of those who reached the summit of Carntogher mountain where the views of the surrounding countryside, thanks to the beautiful weather, were spectacular. Thanks to all those who took part and to those who contributed to our funds by way of very generous sponsorship.

 

 

May has been a busy month for the branch, with a cultural trip to report, the fleadh and feis season well under way and classes ongoing.

 

The cultural trip was a visit to Tubbercurry, Co. Sligo. On Friday 7th May a group from the branch travelled to experience the culture of the area, which has a rich musical and literary tradition. Locations of interest visited en route included the grave of William Butler Yeats in Drumcliffe. On arrival we were made welcome by the local Comhaltas group and attended their monthly session in the unique Brennans pub/grocery shop. Saturday saw further outings and another session in the evening, this time in Murphy's Hotel. Our thanks to Joe Stenson and all at Tubbercurry CCE for their hospitality - see the Gallery for more pictures.

 

 

At the Antrim fleadh in Dunloy on Saturday, 15th May, Molly Walls competed in the U-12 fiddle competition but was unfortunately unsuccessful. Other members and supporters of our branch were part of the Ceoltoiri Crosskeys U-12, 12-15 and 15-18 grupai ceoil which all came second in their sections and qualified for the Ulster fleadh while we had a couple of members in the winning U-12 Ceili Band, also representing Ceoltoiri Crosskeys. Supporters and pupils were also successful in the singing, bodhran, accordion, mandolin and other group competitions.

 

The traditional music section of the annual Yew Tree Feis was held at the Cloney Centre in Ahoghill on Saturday, 29th May. Pictured below are the representatives from Newbridge CCE who participated.

 

 

Maitiu Cairns (right) won the P1-P3 tin whistle competition at the Yew Tree Feis. Ronan Campbell (left) came third while Maitiu's sister, Rioghnach (not pictured), came second in the P1-P3 fiddle competition.

 

 

More prizewinners from the Yew Tree Feis included, from left to right:

Jane Walls, 3rd P1-P3 fiddle, Aoife Stinson J2nd in P4-P5 tin whistle, Caoimhe O'Kane 1st in P4-P5 tin whistle and Overall Most Promising Musician, Molly Walls, 3rd in P4-P5 fiddle, Nicole Nugent, J2nd in P4-P5 Miscellaneous and Cara Walls, 4th in P1-P3 fiddle. 

 

Our weekly music classes will finish on Saturday, 19th June and resume again in October - watch this space for dates. However, with at least three of our traditional singing pupils qualifying for the Ulster fleadh, monthly singing classes will be held in June and July, the first of which will be on Thursday, 10th June at 7:30pm. Also, Irish Language classes are continuing until further notice.

 

This year's fundraising sponsored walk is our most ambitious yet, and will be held on Saturday, 12th June. We will be walking/climbing/crawling to the top of Carntogher Mountain in the Sperrins. The expedition will be leaving Newbridge at 14:00 before setting up base camp in Slaughtneil at 14:30. The walk is open to anyone who is interested and sponsorship forms are available here for anyone who wants to raise some money for the branch.

 

Well done to all our members who competed in the Derry fleadh on Saturday, 17th April. At senior level, Hugh Mulholland qualified for the Ulster fleadh having achieved second place in the banjo competition while the Newbridge CCE ceili band also qualified by winning their competition. Caoimhe Purvis was unplaced in the highly competitive 12-15 fiddle and we had several competitiors in the U-12 age group. Congratulations to Aoife Gribbin, Molly Walls and Nicole Nugent who won the U-12 trio and to Caoimhe O'Kane who won the U-9 tin whistle. Caoimhe also won the U-12 miscellaneous competition and came second in the U-12 ladies singing (in English) competition. Aoife Stinson was third in the U-12 ladies singing (in English) and was unplaced in the duet competition, playing with Nicole Nugent. Caoimhe O'Kane and Molly Walls were also unplaced in this competition. Good luck to all those who have qualified for the Ulster Fleadh which is to be held in Castlewellan at the end of July, and to those associated with our branch who will be competing in the Antrim Fleadh in Dunloy on Saturday, 15th May. For the record, this year's ceili band consisted of:

 

John Agnew - Drums

Una McCorry - Piano

Adrian O'Kane - Fiddle

Maureen McGlone - Fiddle

Maureen Quinn - Flute

Amanda Monaghan - Flute

Hilary Scott - Piano Accordion

Eimear Graham - Button Accordion

Kevin O'Kane - Banjo

Damian Walls - Banjo

 

 

Classes for this term have now finished, but will resume for a further 10 weeks on Saturday, 10th April, at 10:30am for both tin whistle and banjo/mandolin. The next traditional singing class will be on Friday, 16th April at 7:30pm.

 

Thanks to all those who supported our recent traditional singing session and fundraising card night. There are pictures from the session in our Gallery.

 

The long awaited video of last September's appearance by several members of the Newbridge CCE ceili band at a cross community event in Maghera have surfaced on the internet. Select a clip from the panel below to view the footage:

 

Player will show here

 

This year's Co. Derry fleadh will be held in Derry City between the 14th and 18th April with music, singing and Irish language competitions being held on Saturday, 17th April, in Culturlann Ui Chanain on Great James' St. Anyone from Newbridge branch wishing to enter any of the competitions should contact any committee member by 22nd March to register and ensure inclusion in the event programme. Additional information is now available on our Fleadh Information page.

 

The final monthly session of the season will be held in the Comhaltas Room on Thursday 1st April. As this is Holy Thurday, there will be no junior session, although young and old are welcome to play together from 9:00pm and the junior session has been rescheduled for the following Thursday, 8th April, at 7:30pm. 

 

 

The next monthly music session is on Thursday, 4th March. As usual, the junior session is from 7:30pm and the senior from 9:00pm.

 

The traditional singing class for March will be on Friday, 12th March, at 7:30pm in the Comhaltas Room.

 

Our annual singing session has been scheduled for Sunday, 14th March, in the Comhaltas Room, beginning at 8:00pm.

 

The following Friday, 19th March, a fundraising 25/45 card night will be held in the same venue and also starts at 8:00pm.

 

A group of sixteen young musicians consisting of pupils, members and supporters of Newbridge CCE, travelled to Ballymena on Saturday 20th February to compete in the traditional music section of the Ballymena Festival (Primary School age). Playing together as a group they achieved third place while prizewinners in individual competitions were as follows:

 

 

Caoimhe O'Kane - 3rd

Aoife Gribbin - Highly Commended

 

 

Carla McPeake - 2nd

Caoimhe O'Kane - 3rd

Aoife Stinson - Highly Commended

 

Molly Walls played well in the fiddle competition but was unfortunately not placed. Congratulations to all those who participated and thanks to all the children and their parents for the effort and committment over the past few weeks.

 

Back Row L-R : Sorcha McCann, Tiernan McCann, Aoife Gribbin, Niamh Walls, Diarmuid Walls, Aidan McGlone , Nicole Nugent.

Front Row L-R : Caoimhe O'Kane, Aoife McGlone, Carla McPeake, Aoife Stinson, Molly Walls, Dervla Stinson, Maitiu Cairns, Anna McMullan, Patrick Magee.

 

Following the Christmas break, our traditional music classes resume on Saturday morning, 16th January. The tin whistle class will be held in the Comhaltas Room beginning at 10:00am while the banjo/mandolin class will be held in the Committee Room at 10:30am. Places are still available for all the classes and it may be possible to provide classes in additional instruments if there is a demand. Classes will run for 10 weeks this term, finishing on Saturday, 20th March. Each class costs £3, with additional family members paying £2.

 

Irish Language classes start again on Friday evening, 15th January in the Comhaltas Room at 7:00pm.

 

The next monthly session will be on Thursday, 4th Febuary. The junior session begins at 7:30pm and the senior musicians play from about 9:00pm.

 

The next traditional singing class is scheduled for Friday 12th February at 7:30pm in the Comhaltas Room.

 

This year's Derry fleadh has been moved forward from its traditional date in June to the weekend of 17-18 April. It will take place in Derry City and further details will be published as they become available.