The Kilfenora Céilí Band () is one of the oldest céilí bands in Ireland. It was founded in 1909 in

Kilfenora Kilfenora ( ga, Cill Fhionnúrach , meaning 'Church of the Fertile Hillside' or 'Church of the White Brow') is a village and a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It is situated south of the karst limestone region known as the Burren. S ...

, a village in

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,81 ...

History

The first group of céilí musicians played in the old schoolhouse in Kilfenora in 1909. A new Catholic priest invited local fiddler Michael Slattery to form a band to play at fundraising dances to help clear parish debts and refurbish the church. It was also an opportunity for musicians to play at local houses or cross road dances. The members of the band changed over the years. Early players included fiddler John Joe Lynch and his sister Brigid McGrath on concertina, Jim Mulqueeney and Austin Tierney on fiddle, and Jim McCormack on flute. For bigger events, local musicians such as Jimmy Leyden (drums) and Pat Madigan (bass) and McCormack augmented the band. PJ Lynch started re-organising the band in 1953, and they won three "

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

Fleadh Cheoil The Fleadh Cheoil (; meaning "festival of music") is an Irish music festival run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ), a non-profit organisation. The festival includes live music events as well as competition. Each year a single town or cit ...

" titles in a row, in 1954, 1955 and 1956. Thereafter they became extremely busy on the céilí circuit, travelling and playing all over the country. The busy schedule forced PJ Lynch to step back, and his place as manager of the band was taken over by Kitty Lennane, who also played piano in the band. She retained this position for 40 years. In the 1960s the band played in England regularly to large crowds at halls in Manchester, Birmingham and London. Things quietened during the 70s and 80s however, due to changes in musical taste. In July 1992 the Kilfenora population gathered to pay tribute to the band as they celebrated their 85th anniversary. The event was broadcast live on

RTÉ radio RTÉ Radio is a division of the Irish national broadcasting organisation Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Radio broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels nationwide. Founded in January 1926 as 2RN, the first broadcaster in t ...

. Then in 1993, John Lynch, son of PJ, took over as bandleader with the intention of re-entering the competition for the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil. This was achieved spectacularly by the band repeating its 1950s feat of winning the All-Ireland 4 years in a row (1993-6).

Band members

Membership according to the band's website : * John Lynch -

Banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

* Fintan McMahon -

Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

* Sean Griffin -

Drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

* Anne Rynne and Annemarie McCormack -

Fiddles A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, t ...

*Sinéad Heagney: Fiddle & Viola *Eimear Howley: Fiddle, Viola, Banjo & Mandolin * Anthony Quigney: Flute, Whistle & Piano * Garry Shannon -

Flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedles ...

and Whistle * Claire Griffin: Accordion * Tim Collins: Concertina * Brian O’Grady on Double Bass *Sharon Howley: Cello

Former player

* Jimmy Ward * Aidan McMahon * Mike Butler * Séamus Connolly

Guest players

Over the years the band had many guest players, including

Nell Galvin Ellen (Nell) Galvin (1887 - 5 September 1961) was a fiddle and concertina player from County Clare, Ireland. She was originally from Ballydineen, Knockalough, near Kilmihil. Nell Galvin learned to play when she was young. She was taught by ...

and her son Stephen. That time they played an unnamed reel, that promptly was baptized " Mrs Galvin's" by the Band.

Discography

* ''The Kilfenora Ceili Band'' (1994) * ''Set on Stone'' (1995) * ''Live in Lisdoonvarna'' (2002) * ''Century'' (2009) * ''Chapter Eight'' (2011) * ''Now is the Hour'' (2015) * ''Both Sides Now'' (2019)

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kilfenora Ceili Band, The Irish folk musical groups Musical groups from County Clare Musical groups established in 1909 Claddagh Records artists