Piper Paul McNally and Drummer Paul Keyes at the memorial tribute to deceased DFB colleagues at the Training centre on St Patrick’s Day.
DFB PIPE BAND
From within
THE CIRCLE The DFB Pipe Band marked a low-key St Patrick’s Day and looks to the future, writes Mark Toner.
A
s we all know, not much has been happening either in the band or in society as the lockdown continues to play havoc with life. Small things keep the band going though, which hopefully keeps the interest burning for whenever restrictions lift and normal Monday nights’ practice and playing in Marino resumes.
TRADITION We couldn’t let the annual St Patrick’s Day festivities pass unmarked, and although we couldn’t assemble as a band to represent the Brigade,
we did manage to mark the day appropriately. A recent tradition instigated by DFBPB is to assemble outside No 3 Station before we proceed to the main parade start point, where a small ceremony is held and the names of all Brigade members who have passed away in the preceding year are remembered in a rollcall. On completion, a piper plays a lament in salute of our deceased colleagues and friends. This has become an important part of the annual 17th March outing and this year Piper Paul McNally and Drummer Paul Keyes took part in a ceremony in the OBI along with the
CFO and our friends in the DFB Sports and Social Club to continue the tradition. An idea of Drummer Tom McLoughlin was also acted upon, which saw a small band contingent present a bowl of shamrock to the Lord Mayor Hazel Chu at her residence in the Mansion House on St Patrick’s Day afternoon. Compliant with infection control precautions, the Lord Mayor graciously received our gift and allowed us to play a few tunes to mark the day for her and her young family. So, although we were once again halted in our march, we were at least able to mark the occasion and keep traditions alive, and indeed possibly initiate some new ones for future years.
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