Flute band going from strength to strength

Formed in the Irish Street area of the City in 1973, where it is still based, the idea of forming a band came at a time when Northern Ireland was going through the worst spell of ‘the Troubles’.

Over the years the uniform and many of the membership may have changed, but the core principles of the band remain: To give young people in the Irish Street area a productive and creative place to go to learn a craft and to promote and keep alive the music associated with Protestant culture.

The band that exists today emerged from the original band that was formed, The Irish Street Sons of Ulster, and after months of practice a date was finally set for the dedication, and on July 31, 1974, the fledgling band stepped out on their first outing. Even in the early days there was a huge groundswell of support for the band, and this was reflected in the numbers of members, but that support went in peaks and troughs.

Recruitment

Founder member Tommy Lynch, recalled: “In the early years the band often had 50 members on parade but in late 1979 recruitment for the Sons of Ulster slowed down and with the numbers dwindling the Sons of Ulster ceased to function.”

This was to be a mere blip in the early history of the band, as there was a determined will among some of the members to keep the band going, and at that stage the band changed its name.

“It was decided that the name of the band should be changed to East Bank Protestant Boys Flute Band to try and get some new members and very successful it was,” said Tommy, adding: “With many members having played the flute or drum before it didn’t take long before we were ready for marching again.”

The band could now boast 24 flautists, six side drummers, two bass drummers, two cymbal players and a leader.

Contests

Although predominantly a marching band, East bank Protestant Boys Flute Band members have, on many occasions, entered various flute band contests, including the North West, the Londonderry Feis and playing in the all-Ireland Flute Band Contest, which was held in the Ulster Hall, Belfast.

“Although we were among the prizes on more than one occasion, it was the learning of all these marches and hymns, under the direction of Billy Calms, that greatly improved the playing standard of the band,” said Tommy.

“In recent years we have been taking part in a lot of concerts, band nights, Ulster-Scots evenings and, of course, our trip to Blackpool to the end of season Rangers party, where we played to an audience of 3000 people.

“We also have close links to both the Apprentice Boys of Derry, in both Londonderry and Scotland, and the Orange Order in Londonderry, Antrim, Coleraine. Scotland, England and, more recently, with the Limavady District. The Limavady District engaged the band last year and we had the privilege of leading the Twelfth demonstration in Portrush in 2010. We also take part in many parades across Northern Ireland and regularly travel to England and Scotland to take part in various parades and concerts.”

A key feature of the East bank Protestant Boys Flute Band is that it promotes and operates within a very family and community based ethos, and Tommy believes this is what lies behind the fact that the band has grown from strength to strength down through the years. The band is also involved in the Gateway to Protestant Participation, through connections with William Lamrock and Julia Kee, who have greatly assisted the band, particularly over the last year.

“East Bank currently has 50 members on the books, and because of the band’s family and community-based focus and the current band make-up has five father and sons or father and daughter partnerships in the ranks, and there are numerous other family connections, including uncles, cousins, brothers and so on. In fact, over the years the band can boast having had over 400 members from all over the city, but mainly from the Irish Street area,” says Tommy proudly.

New uniforms

Financial investment in the band has been a necessity, and in the past five years alone the band has spent over £40,000 on various necessities, including new uniforms, the purchase of side drums, a second set of caps, flags and the like. The necessary money has been raised entirely by the members themselves, with the exception of £6,000 which was gifted through sponsorship from Colin Laird (XL GROUP owner), who is a native of Londonderry but now resident in Aberdeen.

Thanking Mr Laird for his generosity, Tommy said: “Colin has been fantastic to the band and without his financial help it would not have been possible to progress they way we have.”

“We also recently purchased 10 new uniforms, and were greatly helped in doing this with Peace III grant money, which we received through our involvement with the Gateway to Protestant Participation project,” he said.

Grant applications and consistently successful fundraising have also meant the band has been able to kit themselves out with a new indoor dress uniform and new pendants for the music stands, which alone cost £1,000.

Those who have seen the band on parade will know that at the head of the band is a Colour Party parade with flags and a bannerette. The image of the young man on the bannerette is that of Gary ‘Lofty’ Lynch.

“Gary was a member of our band who was murdered on his way to work 20 years ago in August. The band parade to his graveside each year on the anniversary of his death, where a hymn is played and to lay a wreath in his memory,” said Tommy.

Evolved

Reflecting on his long association with the band, Tommy said: “The band has evolved beyond belief and not just musically. I think having had access to training has been key to this evolution. Through it eight members have completed a child protection course, six members have obtained their first aid certificate, and we also have a constitution and equal opportunity policy all in place.

“Through contact with North West Marketing we have also put 30 of our members through a ‘Go For It’ course, and through that they have been able to gain help and support in starting their own business. We have continued on the path of capacity building by attending and participation in good relations training and in conjunction with the Gateway to Protestant Participation we have been able to create a strategic plan outlining our aims and objectives,” he said.

He continued: “This training is being shared throughout the entire band, with different members attending each course. This is to maximise our capacity building and allows us to empower more people within our band community. The positive actions we have taken to date will enable us in the future to apply for funding and, most of all, allows us to strengthen and develop as a band for the future, through self-help, ownership and music,” said Tommy.

The band practices on a Monday night at Irish Street Community Centre, between 7pm and 9pm and new members are always welcome.