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

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

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) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

Fleadh Cheoil The Fleadh Cheoil (), or "music festival" in English, is an annual Ireland, Irish arts festival and competition run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Irish pronunciation: Help:IPA/Irish,

RTÉ radio RTÉ Radio is a division and service of Irish public broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), which broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels across Ireland. Founded in January 1926 as 2RN, was the first broadcaster in ...

. 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 * Fintan McMahon - Piano * Sean Griffin - Drums * Anne Rynne and Annemarie McCormack - Fiddles *Sinéad Heagney: Fiddle & Viola *Eimear Howley: Fiddle, Viola, Banjo & Mandolin * Anthony Quigney: Flute, Whistle & Piano * Garry Shannon -

Flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

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

Former Players

* Jimmy Ward

Guest players

Over the years the band had many guest players, including Nell Galvin and her son Stephen. That time they played an unnamed reel, that promptly was baptized " Mrs Galvin's" by the Band.

Discography

* ''All-Ireland Champions For Three Consecutive Years'' (1959) * ''Clare Ceili'' (1971) * ''The Kilfenora Ceili Band'' (1974) * '' The Best Of Traditional Irish Music From Ireland’s Number One Céilí Band'' (1995) * ''Set on Stone'' (1997) * ''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 1900s in Irish music 1910s in Irish music 1920s in Irish music 1930s in Irish music 1940s in Irish music 1950s in Irish music 1960s in Irish music 1970s in Irish music 1980s in Irish music 1990s in Irish music 2000s in Irish music 2010s in Irish music 2020s in Irish music