Newmarket’s Pipe Band was founded in 1963.  They first practiced in the CYMS hall and then in the old parochial house.  Many sessions later they moved to the O’ Brien Hall and finally to the Kerry road, where they purchased a house in 1966.  This was refurnished in 1969. 

Their first engagement outside of Newmarket was in Liscarroll at a match.  Certainly it was a great novelty at the time and this has continued ever since.  The highest achievement for the pipe band was the winning of the Mini-Band competition in Limerick in 1991. They won the Munster championship was won in Carrgaline in 1992.   

On the solo scene it was an honor for David Jones to win the U 14 championship in 1980, and Pat Sullivan captured 2^nd in the U. 16 in 1976.  The first set of pipes cost £23 and today a similar set would cost approx £800.  I want to thank Dermot Jones for giving me all this research information.    Mr Jones is …………

By Seamus O Keeffe

Types of drums  

They are all types of drums in the world. The field drum is played in marching bands; the snare drum provides rhythm in orchestra; the Bongo drum is used in folk and popular music; the conga drum is used in Latin-American music; the timpani and the kettledrums are the only drums that can be tuned to a definite pitch - they are used in symphony orchestras; the bass drum booms a deep full tune; marching bands that perform at football matches and parades usually have at least one bass drum and a drum kit is played in all types of music. A drum kit is also known as a drum set.

How to sit at the drums:

One of the most important things is to keep your back straight while you're sitting at the drums. This gives you maximum reach and keeps away the possibility of musical strains. Start by putting the snare drum directly in front of you. The exact distance is a personal choice; experiment until you feel comfortable with the position of the drum stool and the snare drum. When you are setting up the position of the drum stool and the kit, make sure you can reach all the drum and cymbals easily, without having to lean. Also make sure that the drums are far apart so you are not cramped in any way, you most be in a relaxed and comfortable position when you are playing.

How to make a toy drum

(you will need) a plastic bath hat, scissors, mini dustbin, coloured sticky tape, plane sticky tape, coloured paper, felt-tipped pens, pencil, ruler, thin cord or rope, pva glue and brush, black poster paints, cork, paint brush, 2 wooden bar barque skewers, 2 plastic straws.

Step 1     Cut the elastic out of the bath hat. Draw around a plate witch is 5cm (2in) bigger all around than the top of the dustbin. Cut the circle out.

Step 2     Decorate the dustbin with stripes of coloured sticky tape.

Step 3     Stretch the plastic circle tightly over the open end of the dustbin. Stick in place with several small tabs of sticky tape.

Step 4     Make sure the plastic drum skin is really tight then tape right around the edge hold it in place.

Step 5     Cut a strip of coloured paper to fit around the dustbin top. Make small cuts on both sides for a fringe.  

Step 6     Glue the fringe around the top of the dustbin.

Step 7     Tie the cord or rope around the centre of the fringe.

Step 8     Ask a grown-up to cut the cork in half across the middle. Paint the cocks black. Push the skewers through the straws, than ask a grown-up to push them into the corks.

By Seamus O’ Keeffe.