Holy Cross Accordion Band Atticall County Down

Holy Cross Accordion Band Atticall County Down

Holy Cross Senior Miscellaneous Band Atticall playing in the arena at the All Ireland in 2018

Holy Cross Accordion Band Atticall is an Irish Accordion band from County Down in Ireland formed in 1974. They are a non-profit accordion band that performs in competitions and parades all over Ireland. They are from a small village called Atticall near Kilkeel and Newry in County Down.It has a very small population of around 200 people so the sustainability of the band relies on consant fresh blood joining which can be challenging in a predominant Football and Gaa culture area. The band participates in Marching band and Fleadh competitions in Ireland and they have been very successful recently. The band has over 50 members aged six to over forty and is going from strength to strength. Recently in 2014 they celebrated 40 years of existence.

Holy Cross Senior Accordion Band Atticall at the UMBA competition 2011 in Bundoran

UMBA competitions

The band entered competitions under the umbrella of the Ulster Marching Bands Association until 2013 when the competitions ended.The competitions were run by having three grades; grade A, B, C,each grade had a league table with bands awarded points for each competition they won. There was also an annual award of the Ulster marching Champions for each grade and at each competition bands would be recognised with awards for Best Drum Major, Best Drums, Best Music, Best Band of the Day, Best Band on Parade and Best Marching & Drill based on their marks from the competition. The band have been very successful in these competitions. They have won best band on parade, Best Music and Best Drum major along with the many other awards on numerous occasions and won Ulster Marching Champions three years in a row 2010–2012, and won the now-defunct All Ireland Marching Champions in 2010 and 2012.

All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil Marching Band Competition

Holy Cross Senior Accordion Band Atticall performing in the arena at the Fleadh Cheoil Marching Bands Competition

Holy Cross Senior Accordion Band Atticall entertaining large crowds in Drogheda after winning three All Irelands in a row

The All Ireland Fleadh takes place annually every year in different locations across Ireland. The marching bands competition is one of the many events that take place across a busy week at the Fleadh. The band competition takes place in an outdoor arena it must be 40 x 20 metres. After the results are announced all the bands parade around the host town showing off their silver ware. There are several different sections in the competition they are:

•Junior Accordion

•Junior Miscellaneous

•Junior Flute

•Senior Accordion

•Senior Miacellaneous

•Senior Flute

Holy Cross Senior Accordion Band Atticall Marching through Cavan town after their First All Ireland Fleadh Victory in 2010

Each band must compete at their county Fleadh and then the provincial Fleadh in order to qualify for the Fleadh Cheoil. In each qualification stage the bands that place 1st and 2nd go through to the next stage. Occasionally the adjudicators recommends one of the third place competitors to go through to the next stage, if their performance was to a high enough level. In the Senior competitions the All Ireland winners from the previous year automatically qualify for the next years All Ireland and so they do not have to compete at their county or provincial Fleadh. The majority of the marching bands now come from Ulster and it remains one of the only competitive provincial Fleadh. In each competition there are 3 adjudicators. Each band is marked out of 100 marks, this is based on several aspects of their performance. They are: Drum major, Marching Drill, Music, Drumming and uniforms. Each band performs for 10 to 12 minutes they play a range Irish traditional music including jigs, reels, polka, marches and slow airs. While they are in the arena they must also perform a marching drill routine, this allows each band to show off their marching skills but also be tested as the adjudicators watch very closely on their lines and turns. At the end of the competition the marks are totalled for each band from the three judges and the winner is the band who has the most points altogether from the three judges scores. Each section is marked separately so there is a winner in each section.

Senior Accordion Band

Holy Cross Senior Accordion Band Atticall parading after Fifth All Ireland success in 2017

The band enter the All Ireland Fleadh competitions annually with their Senior Accordion band.It consists of approximately 40 members aged 12 - 50 years old. During the winter months they practice once a week for two hours and then from January on its at least twice a week and up to four or five times a week when coming up to big competitions.This has been the most successful competition for the band and they have competed in this section since their formation in 1974. Holy Cross Accordion band has won the County Down Fleadh many times in the past and the Ulster Fleadh five times recently in 2008, 2010, 2014, 2016 in the Senior Accordion competition.

In 2010 they won their first ever All Ireland title winning the Senior Accordion competition at the Fleadh in Cavan. This was achieved after several years of trying and was seen as a major achievement. In 2011 they retained their title and they won it again in 2014, 2016 and 2017. They were the only participants in 2017, however many other years they had competed against excellent bands such as St Brigids Accordion Band who are the record holders for having won the most Senior Accordion titles and St Muigels Downpatrick another highly successful accordion band. In 2016 they made history by winning the Senior and Junior Accordion competitions; this was only the second time any band had one the two Senior and Junior Accordion titles in the same year. In 2018 the Atticall Band made history by winning the Senior Accordion title again. This was for the third consecutive year and it was the first they had ever won they had ever achieved three in a row.

Junior Accordion band

Holy Cross Junior Accordion Band Atticall at the All Ireland 2016

The Atticall Junior Band was created in 2014 it consisted of around 20 members all aged under 18. They won First in the County Down Fleadh the same year. They went on to win it for three consecutive years. In 2015 they competed at the Ulster Fleadh, winning the Junior Accordion title. In 2016 they retained this title to win back to back Ulster ttles for the first time ever.

The Holy Cross Junior Accordion Band then competed at their first All Ireland Fleadh competition ever in 2016, this was the first time Atticall band was represented in the Junior Accordion section at the All Ireland Fleadh and they won the competition but were the only participant. This was an amazing victory as it was the first time they won the Junior Accordion title but as well as that the concentration and the level of skill required was extremely high and for such young members the majority aged 7 - 12 it shows the time, effort and sheer dedication that was put in to winning.

Senior Miscellaneous Band

Holy Cross Senior Miscellaneous Band Atticall after winning the County Down Fleadh in 2018

The band decided to enter Miscellaneous competitions in 2018. They won the County Down Fleadh for the first time and then beat Ramelton Town Band to win the Ulster for the first time ever. They then competed at the All Ireland Fleadh in Drogheda but only came third place being beaten controversially in a close competition by Cloich Cheann Fhaola and Ramelton Town Band. However this was still a momentous occasion for the band as it was their first attempt at the miscellaneous competition and they became the first band to have entered two senior bands into the same competition.

Performances

The band has paraded at events annually on St. Patrick's day in cities across Ireland including Newry, Ardee and Drogheda and they also had the privilege to take part in the National Parade in Dublin 2002.

They also perform on the 15th of August annually in Atticall, Kilkeel and Warenpoint, as well as other festivals such as the Fiddlers Green International Festival Rostrevor and the Maiden of Mournes Festival Warenpoint. At christmas time they also take part in a Santa parade for Buttercrane Shopping Centre Newry which is a very festive and enjoyable occasion for all. They also play at GAA matches and tournaments for the local GAA club in Atticall.

Holy Cross Accordion Band Atticall parading at the Dublin Easter Rising Centenary 2016

National Events they have performed at:

• The Rose of Tralee Parade in Tralee Kerry in 2003
• The 1916 Easter Rising Centenary Parade in Dublin 2016
• Dublin St Patricks Day parade in 2002
• The Band led the Lord Mayors Parade in Belfast 2011. This was the first time that a marching band had been asked to participate. This was on the back of their first All Ireland success and through taking part in this parade they were used in promotional aspects for tourism NI

.

Major Achievements

Junior and Senior Drum Majors Celebrating their Historic Double All Ireland win in 2016

Holy Cross Senior Accordion Band Atticall parading after their historic three in a row in 2018

During the Holy Cross Accordion Bands history they have been recognised for their many major achievements. In 2010 the Newry and Mourne Council hosted a civic reception for the band to celebrate their historic achievement of winning the Senior Accordion All Ireland title. This was a highly significant event as it was the first time they had ever won the title after 30 years of trying. They were able to retain this title in 2011 another significant triumph. In 2016 they made history by being only the second ever band since 1970 to win the Junior and Senior Accordion titles on the same day. This was an extraordinary accomplishment only ever achieved before by St Brigids Accordion Band Jonesbouragh in 2012. It was highly regarded in the local community and the local council of Newry Mourne and Down District Council held a civic reception for the Senior and Junior bands and made a presentation to each band. In 2018 the band made history numerous times firstly by forming a Senior Miscellaneous band and winning the County and Ulster Fleadh and being represented at the All Ireland Fleadh, secondly by winning the three in a row in the Senior Accordion All Ireland Fleadh, thirdly by competing in two separate senior competitions on the same day, no other band had done this before and finally they became the only band to have ever competed in three different sections of the All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil Marching Band competition the most anyone had competed in was two before 2018. The three sections were Junior Accordion, Senior Accordion and Senior Miscellaneous.

Local Community

The band offers members the opportunity to be part of a team and to represent the local community. This can be done through playing one of a wide variety of instruments or training to be a majorette orflag carrier in the colour guard.

The band receives a large number of invites every year to events across Ireland. They play at various functions, charity fundraisers, football matches for Atticall GAA, council events throughout the year and cross community concerts organised by the Kilkeel Presbyterian church. They also help raise money for local hospice services, Chest, Heart and Stroke and sending local volunteers to Zambia. Recently in 2018 they took part in a memorial charity concert for Alzheimers Society.

See also

• List of venues for All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann
• All Ireland Fleadh venues
• List of All-Ireland Fleadh champions
• All Ireland Fleadh - Marching Band Competition
• Atticall

References

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