Cullen pipe band heralds anniversary with success

THE skirl of the bagpipes echoed around the Co Cork village of Cullen yesterday as local people celebrated a notable success by a well-known pipe band on its 65th anniversary.

Cullen Pipe Band, which has been a fixture at many important public events over a wide area since 1941, recently finished fourth in the World Pipe Band Championships, in Glasgow.

“We’re over the moon. This is the biggest achievement in our history. You could call the Glasgow event the Olympics of piping,” said the band’s delighted pipe major, Con Houlihan, who himself came first in the Division Two in the solo amateur event.

Cullen competed in Grade 3B along with 23 other bands.

The latest prize follows a number of other successes by the band, including a third place in the All-Ireland Championships, as well as prizes in the Mid-Ulster Championships and the South of Ireland Championships.

The 30-member band, which has won numerous awards down the years, plays at Munster finals, festivals, commemorations, political gatherings and events.

New members are recruited on an ongoing basis and there are currently 10 primary school pupils in the ranks. Much dedication is required, often involving practice two nights per week.

“It can take up to two years to learn to play the bagpipes. There’s definitely a lot of time involved,” said Con Houlihan, who teaches piping and has been in the band for nearly 40 years.

The band played in the New York St Patrick’s Day parade, in 2001, and has also been to Italy, France and Spain.

Longest-serving member is Tim Goulding, who is also president of the band. He has been involved since the early 1950’s.

During the celebrations, band members paraded proudly through Cullen village in their MacDonald Lord of the Isles Hunting Tartan kilts and also put their silverware on display.

The band has come a long way since being started by people such Paddy Fitzgerald and Michael Rea, a Cullen postman and piper who was known to go around with a chanter in his bag.

Older members have many memories to recall, including an exciting election in Kerry, in 1951, when they led torch-lit parades for ex-Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader Eamon de Valera through Killarney and other towns in Kerry.