A Marching band tradition, which has brought entertainment to hundreds of thousands of people at festivals and parades, could be on its last legs.
Concerns for the future of just under 100 marching bands, pipe bands, and concert bands, have been voiced by representative organisations following a dramatic decline in numbers in recent years.
They are blaming a lack of funding and different demands on young people’s time for the worrying decline.
Marching bands are highly beneficial for the youth as well as learning a musical instrument, they learn leadership skills and how to work as a team.
But with dramatically fewer bands participating in local community events, key festivals such as St Patrick’s Day could also be looking at a future without the traditional marching bands taking part.
Over ten years ago in July 2007, the crisis came to a head in Co Donegal when just three bands turned up for a festival event in Burtonport which once attracted up to 20 competing bands.
This was further highlighted in 2013 when the UMBA decided to stop hosting marching band competitions due to a lack of competing bands in each section.
The number of bands attending the Fleadh Cheoil competitions has also been reduced greatly over the last decade. With some sections now having no entrants or only one competitor.
The Junior Accordion section had no entrants in 2015 and has since only had one entrant per year, the Senior Accordion section has had only one competitor the last two years and the Senior Flute section only had one entrant this year. This competition could have had 30 or more competitors 20 years ago and now its seen as a good turnout if there are over ten bands who show up.
An Irish Marching Bands‘ Association (IMBA) member, from Mullingar, confirmed that a lot of bands had “gone by the wayside” in recent years
The reality is that a band can be wiped out completely in the one season if new blood doesn’t come in or members move on to college or whatever. But apart from the need to attract more young people to join local bands, the cost of maintaining a local band is considerable.
It is a costly business with uniforms and instruments. You must also have a music tutor and a drill tutor but commitment from both the community and the band members is the heart and soul of the future of marching bands,”
Overall apart from the Fleadh Marching Band Competitions and IMBA Competitions there really are no other major competitions for traditional Irish marching bands in Ireland. That really shows the lack of bands in today’s society.