Loughkillygreen Accordion Band celebrate centenary: It's more than just a band, it's a community, says bandmaster
The centenary celebration of a Co Fermanagh accordion band has heard that every single member has a part to play in keeping their legacy alive for the next 100 years.
Bandmaster Simon Wiggins was speaking to several hundred people at Loughkillygreen Accordion Band’s celebration, near Newtownbutler in Co Fermanagh on Friday night to mark its centenary.
The evening took place at Loughkillygreen Orange Hall, where a special uniform dedication service was led by Lay Chaplain Kenneth Rutledge, followed by band member Matthew McAlister reading from the book of Colossians.
Mr Wiggins told the News Letter: "We were delighted to welcome our spectating guests and 12 visiting bands who joined us in celebrating this very special milestone.”
Together the 13 bands took part in a short parade.
Mr Wiggins also gave a report to the gathering about the highs and lows of the band’s 100 year history.
"I emphasised to all members – whether they joined in recent years or whether they have been there 20 years or more – that every single person plays their part in keeping the band going," he told the News Letter.
"There is a legacy and it's a matter of keeping it on the road until I as bandmaster hand it on to somebody else to keep it going."
He added: "It's more than just a band, it's a community. It's about keeping the people in a very rural area together and providing a social outlet - and that's not just through parades."
The band is having a fun night of water activities soon to round out the marching season, and also holds social events to mark Christmas and Easter.
To conclude the centenary evening, the band entertained the crowd gathered outside the Orange Hall with a selection of tunes, followed by a BBQ.
Loughkillygreen was formed in 1926 as a flute band, just five years after the nearby border with the Republic was created.
In the 1960s it pivoted to accordions, reflecting a contemporary shift in marching band traditions.The band suffered an unusual interruption in the Troubles – it couldn’t rehearse due to terrorist threats to an army checkpoint installed on the lane to their hall, but survived as an important community outlet.