Artane Band
| Artane Band | |
|---|---|
 | |
| School | Artane School of Music |
| Location | St David's Park, Artane, Dublin, Ireland |
| Founded | April 1871 |
| Director | Ronan O'Reilly |
| Website | artanemusic |
The Artane Band (Irish: Banna Ard Aidhin)[1][2] is a marching band for young musicians based at the Artane School of Music in Artane in Dublin, Ireland.
Name
The band was originally called the Artane Boys Band, with members drawn from the pupils at Artane Industrial School, an industrial school which closed in 1969.[3] Its name changed to "Artane Band" in 2004 when girls were first admitted.[4]
History
Foundation and ethos
The band was formed in 1872 and first performed in public in 1874 for the visiting Prince of Wales, later Edward VII.[5]
While it was still known as the Artane Boys Band, Larry Mullen Jr (drummer and founder of U2) played with them, learning military-style beats which he incorporated into many U2 songs.[citation needed][original research?]
It became well known for playing at Croke Park at major matches of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), playing before the match and at the half time interval, and leading the All-Ireland final teams' pre-match procession around the pitch.[6][3][7] Its first GAA matches were on Whit Monday 1886,[7][3] and the association encouraged spectators to sing "Amhrán na bhFiann" and other Irish songs to the band's accompaniment; this reflected a commitment to cultural nationalism shared by the GAA and the Christian Brothers who ran the school.
Artane School allegations
Allegations of historical child abuse at Artane Industrial School were publicised in the 1990s and confirmed by the 2009 report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse.[3] However, the commission's report said the band had been a positive experience for its members.[4] There were calls for the band to change its name to break the association with the discredited institution.[3] The current band management regard its name as relating to the Artane district and not the defunct industrial school.[3]
Recent activities
The band played at the Oxegen 2009 music festival.[4] In 2016 the organisation celebrated its "130 year partnership" with the GAA.[8]
References
- ^ "19/11/2013 : Seolann an tAire Deenihan Plean Straitéiseach Cheolscoil Ard Aidhin 2013 - 2016 i bPáirc an Chrócaigh - An Roinn Cultúir, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta". www.chg.gov.ie.
- ^ seolinn_jessica_admin (30 September 2016). "SEO LINN'S HALF TIME PERFORMANCE AT CROKER".
- ^ a b c d e f Hilliard, Mark (5 September 2016). "Call to rebrand Artane Band due to 'trauma'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- ^ a b c McGreevy, Ronan (17 June 2009). "Artane Band set to take to the stage at Oxegen". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- ^ Corless, Damian (27 November 2011). "Legendary Artane band boy". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- ^ Rouse, Paul (Spring–Summer 2008). "A Day Out in Dublin at the Hurling: The All-Ireland Hurling Final 2005, Cork vs. Galway". Éire-Ireland. 43 (1–2): 205–221. doi:10.1353/eir.0.0006.
- ^ a b "The Artane Band and GAA celebrate a 130 year partnership" (Press release). GAA. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- ^ "Meet Emily McDonnell - the first-ever woman to lead the Artane Band onto the All-Ireland football final pitch". Irish Independent. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
External links
- Artane Band Artane School of Music website