Kilfenora Céilí
Band
The Kilfenora return to Camden
Town this autumn – yes – but
after a forty-five year gap!
Their last trip to London
was in the 1960s during their series of
annual Lenten trips to Britain: gigs at a
time of year where, at home in Ireland,
revelry was proscribed through religious
observance in the run up to Easter.
Kilfenora is a small agricultural village
in the Burren, that unique rock-desert
in the west of Ireland. It’s a quiet place
with a reputation for small scale farming
and Gaelic football (a cross between
rugby and soccer) and, in many ways,
an unlikely setting for a musical saga.
To generations of Irish traditional
music devotees, the village is
known as the birthplace and home
of the Kilfenora Céilí Band.
Enduring many peaks and troughs
since its formation in 1909, the group
has almost died many times but rose
phoenix-like from the ashes. This resilient
group of musicians have managed, many
times against the odds, to keep a culture
not just alive – but alive and kicking.
This year in particular has proven to be
frenetic, what with an entire festival in
their honour last March, the issuing of a
new landmark album called Century and
numerous high profile events including
their documentary on national TV.
Background
What has set The Kilfenora apart is
their longevity. While others adapted
or followed fashionable change much
to their own detriment and ultimate
demise, the Kilfenoras have continued to
perform and tour sporadically since their
formation almost one hundred years ago.
The Kilfenora motto in the early years
was: “You don’t play to be listened
to. You play to be danced to”. That
is the distinctive aspect of Kilfenora
music – it’s all about lift and rhythm.
The earliest newspaper reference to a
band in the area was made in The Clare
Journal, 1888, which reported on the
‘Kilfenora Band’ who played outside the
courthouse in Ennis as an expression
of solidarity for a group of local land
activists who were being tried for a raid
during which a constable had been
killed. This fife and drum band gradually
evolved into a more serious brass and
reed band and eventually, in 1909, these
military-style ensembles spawned the
first Céilí band. They had a residency
in the local school house for nearly ten
years, playing mainly fund-raising gigs
for the renovation of the local church
– very much a dance band. They were
also often engaged for organised events
in hotels or in “big houses”, some of
which had their own private ballroom.
Following the civil war, a more inward
looking, puritanical mood began to grip
the clergy, and in 1935 the Government
introduced a public dance hall act
that adversely affected the practice of
holding dances in houses. The Kilfenoras
embraced this change while remaining
true to their origins. They continued to
enjoy great popularity both at home
and abroad during the late 1940s, when
locals would gather around the one radio
in the village to hear a live broadcast.
By the 1950s, they were in such
demand that pianist Kitty Linnane
assumed the task of secretary and grew
into the role of leader of the band for
the next forty years. But the heyday
reached its peak in the ‘50s and ‘60’s
when céilí bands competed against
one another at fleadh ceoils around the
country; the electric atmosphere was
akin to that of an all-Ireland hurling final,
with supporters cheering on the home
side. Friendly rivalry between bands
such as the Tulla and the Kilfenora Céilí
bands is now the stuff of folklore.
In 1958 and 1973-4, The Kilfenora
recorded two albums but by the late
1970s people began to desert the
poorly lit and badly heated barns of
dancehalls for the comfort of the pubs.
By the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, a set
dancing revival had swept the music
world. From 1993 to 1995, a younger
generation Kilfenora Céilí Band replicated
the three-in-a-row All-Ireland winning
feat of the 1950s band and since the
mid-nineties, a further four albums
have been recorded by the Kilfenora.
The Present and the Future
2009 marks the centenary celebration
of the Kilfenora Céilí Band. Not only
is this an historic milestone for the
band itself, but a reminder that Irish
culture and traditions are thriving
and have survived the test of time.
The ten-piece band features three
fiddles (Anne Rynne, Pat Lynch and
Annemarie McCormack), two flutes
(Anthony Quigney and Garry Shannon),
two squeezeboxes (Tim Collins and his
wife, Claire Griffin), banjo and leader
(John Lynch), drums (Sean Griffin)
and piano (Fintan McMahon).
The current line-up has been together,
by and large, for seventeen years under
the leadership of John Lynch. With the
previous generation advancing in age,
the band was going through something
of a hiatus in the early ‘90s and then John
emerged. He proved quite conservative
to begin with and they confined their
activity to rehearsal and competition.
However, they took on some gigs and the
bug took hold. They couldn’t believe it
when they were being invited to Britain,
France, America and elsewhere but within
a few years, they were taking it in their
stride. They often play for dancers but in
recent years have moved further towards
concert performances and this has proved
successful. Their forte is instrumental
music with some harmony and a driving
rhythm. They also have profitably
collaborated with vocalists and invariably
include a singer or two in concert.
The formula has enabled the
Kilfenora to travel extensively to many
lands, including cruise tours of the
Mediterranean. They have sold out the
Irish National Concert Hall in Dublin and
are regulars at the major festivals such
as Glastonbury and Milwaukee Irish
Fest. The typical show has a big screen
back-drop featuring iconic images from
the hundred years through which they
survived. It juxtaposes the global and the
local with imagery and video clips which
greatly enhance the audience experience.
In July this year, they played in the Swiss
national Stadium, Berne, for 48,000 people
in aid of the Manuela Riedo foundation.
The current crop are gradually
introducing younger blood to the lineup
and thus aim to perpetuate their
success. Whatever the future holds,
the object of the present Kilfenora Céilí
Band is to continue in the style of their
predecessors. By staying true to traditional
instrumentation and repertoire, and
applying some judicious innovation, they
are determined to cement their tradition
and secure the future in order to reach yet
another generation of audiences. As the
band say themselves, “It’s in the blood”.
www.kilfenoraceiliband.com