Kilfenora Céilí Band: Beat goes on for John Lynch and a 100-year-old family tradition 

The Kilfenora Céilí Band are touring to Cork and other centres 

John Lynch is part of the Kilfenora Céilí Band, the oldest band of its type in Ireland. 

John Lynch has traditional music in his veins. His grandfather, John Joe Lynch, was a founding member of the Kilfenora Céilí Band over a century ago. His father, PJ, was a mainstay of the band during a golden era in its fortunes, when it famously won three All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil titles in a row in the mid 1950s.

“You had the glory days of the céilís from the early 1950s right through to the mid ’60s,” says Lynch. “Then the showbands and rock'n'roll came in. There was no demand for céilí bands. I remember in the early ’70s, Christmas night in Kilfenora was a big céilí. There was a double band on in the céilí hall. It was packed because there was nowhere else to go so all the youth in the county were hitting for Kilfenora. It was jammed, but that was the only night for céilís because the showbands had taken over."