Kilfenora Ceili Band

Kilfenora Ceili Band

Kilfenora Ceili Band is an Irish folk céilí band from Kilfenora, County Clare, active since 1909. The group develops from the village’s early dance-music tradition and becomes one of the best-known names in Irish céilí band performance.

Early history

The band’s roots lie in fundraising dances held in the schoolhouse in Kilfenora in the early 20th century, when the parish is in debt and Canon Cassidy organises events to help clear it and refurbish the church. Musicians from the older brass and reed band, including John Joe Lynch and Jim Mulqueeney, take part alongside senior local players such as fiddle master Michael Slattery. In the 1920s, the band’s core group includes Jim Mulqueeney, Jim McCormack, John Joe Lynch, Austin Tierney and Brigid McGrath on concertina, with other players adding fiddle, piano, banjo, clarinet, bass, drums, flute and piccolo.

Broadcasts and competitions

The band’s first radio broadcast takes place in 1932 from Athlone. Another broadcast follows in June 1935, relayed from Ennis town hall, and in June 1940 the band broadcasts from the Convent of Mercy, Ennis on Radio Éireann after winning the Céilí Band Competition at the Ennis Carnival. The group also holds a three-year contract to play winter céilís at the Queen’s Hotel in Ennis during 1935, 1936 and 1937.

In 1953, P.J. Lynch assembles a new group from musicians within a five-mile radius of Kilfenora and enters the All-Ireland céilí band competition. The band wins in 1954, then again in 1955 and 1956, completing a three-in-a-row on home ground in Ennis. The 1956 line-up includes Gerry Lynch, Kitty Linnane, Frank O’Mahony, P.J. Lynch, Gerald O’Loughlin, Shamus McCormack, Gus Tierney, Noreen Lynch, Jim Ward and Ita Mulqueeney.

Recordings and later activity

The 1958 album The Kilfenora Céilí Band is the only commercial recording by most of that line-up. The band changes substantially after that and wins at the Fleadh in Swinford in 1961. Under Kitty Linnane’s leadership, it remains active on the céilí circuit for decades, performing across the Republic of Ireland and making regular trips to Britain during Lent.

From the early 1970s, the band records Clare Céilí on EMI and another album titled The Kilfenora Céilí Band on Transatlantic. During the 1980s, its activity is largely limited to special nostalgia occasions, before a revival in the 1990s leads to renewed prominence. John Lynch, son of P.J. Lynch, assembles a younger line-up in 1991, with help from Phil McMahon and Gerry Lynch, and the band wins three titles in a row from 1993 to 1995. It continues to tour in Ireland, Britain, Europe and the United States, and it plays beyond céilí dances for larger festival audiences while staying close to traditional instrumentation and repertoire.

Membership

Current and listed members include Bridgie McGrath, Jimmy Ward, Tim Collins, Claire Griffin, Sean Griffin, Sinéad Heagney, Eimear Howley, Sharon Howley, John Lynch, AnneMarie McCormack, Fintan McMahon, Brian O’Grady, Anthony Quigney, Anne Rynne, Garry Shannon and Jim Mulqueeney.