A musical tradition in Mayo's county town
By Tom Gillespie
PICTURED here are Castlebar musicians Dick Gillespie, Seamie Gavin, Padraic McDonald and Kevin Bourke, who have all, sadly, gone to the great concert hall in the sky.
Music was in their blood and each of them were members of various bands in the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s.
Dick Gillespie, a trumpet player and drummer, fronted many bands in Castlebar and was part of the resident band in the Travellers Friend Hotel during the 1960s, along with Dan Doyle, Nan Monaghan and Madame Bourke.
At a very early age he was taught to play the trumpet by Sonny Comer of Staball, Castlebar. Among the many bands he played with was the Maryland Swingtet and Brose Walsh.
Seamie Gavin, a great character, singer and accordion player, played with Brose Walsh for several decades and he was a colourful master of ceremonies.
Likewise, saxophone player Padraic McDonald was a talented musician and in latter years he and Dick Gillespie, Seamie Gavin and Tony Conway formed the aptly names Old Spice band.
Kevin Bourke, from Moneen in the town, with members of his family, formed the Royal Chords Showband, who were hugely popular in the 1960s.
One of Kevin’s sons, Tom, went on to gain international fame as trumpeter and musical director with Brendan Bowyer and the Big 8 in Las Vegas. For several years he was musical director of the Castlebar Concert Band.
Local historian Brian Hoban researched the history of the music scene in the county town.
He wrote when Stephen Garvey started up his band - The Stephen Garvey Strict Tempo Orchestra - it was the start of an era of famous showbands. He was the first in Ireland to import the famous Hammond organ, in 1936. When one mentions The Stephen Garvey Band names such as Joe Chambers, Seamie Gavin, Jimmy Feeney and Brendan Ward come to mind, as these were household names at the time.
A little known musician played with Stephen’s orchestra, Val Doonican, who went on to gain international fame as a singer.
There were as many as 10 to 14 part-time bands operating around Castlebar in the 1950s and early '60s, the most notable being Brose Walsh and The Arcadia Orchestra and Tony Chambers of Ballroom of Romance fame.
Kevin Bourke, Dick Gillespie and Sean Bourke are other names that were to the fore in the entertainment world of Castlebar during this era.
Choral Society Castlebar also has a long tradition of choral music. The church choir has always been an integral part of Castlebar life. Many of our most noted singers started out their singing careers as members of the church choir.
In the 1960s, after the Second Vatican Council, community singing was introduced in Castlebar’s Catholic church and Castlebar Folk Group started up shortly after this time. Recently a gospel choir has been started in the town. The church funeral choir provide a most valuable service to parishioners.
Castlebar Choral Society was founded in 1974 with Owen Connolly as its musical director. As members of the Association of Irish Musical Societies (AIMS), the choral society has represented Castlebar at national level and has brought many awards back to their native town. Several members of the choral society are also members of the distinguished Mayo County Choir.
Irish dancing and traditional music has a great tradition in the town.
Castlebar Pearse Ceilidh Band brought back the coveted Sligo Cup from Feis Ceoil Sligigh in 1934. It had among its members Angela Corcoran, Mag Byrne, M. Egan, M.J. McNamara and J.J. Collins.
The Redmond, Deere and Cresham schools of Irish dancing have taught dancing to several generations of Castlebar children over the years.
Traditional music is provided in several pubs in the town throughout the year. Some names that come to mind are the Kilkenny family from Castlebar, the Mayock family from Ross, Smith family from Straide and John Hoban from Castlebar.
In 1971, when the Castlebar Song Contest was at its zenith, a group of schoolchildren called La Salle won the top prize. Members of the group were Mary Heverin, John Donegan, Fintan Murphy, John Dunford and Brendan Fahy. The winning song, ‘Feelin That I’ve Got It Made’, was composed by Michael Murphy, brother of Fintan, and later an RTÉ newsreader.
La Salle pipped such well-known singers as Pat Roper, Ian Corrigan, Joe Cuddy, Art Supple and Pat McGeegan.
The group went on to tour the USA. Some of the members of the group went on to form a traditional group called General Humbert. It was with General Humbert that Mary Black started her professional career, with their base in the Humbert Inn pub on Main Street. Shay Kavanagh was a member of this group and went on to play with the Dublin City Ramblers.
Brendan O’Regan, who also played in Castlebar around the same time, went on to join De Dannan and has performed the score music for several films.
Little is known, or realised, of the generosity of the seasoned musicians like Brose Walsh, Seamie Gavin, Dick Gillespie, Padraic McDonald, Kevin Bourke, Seanie Bourke, etcetera, who gave of their services, free of charge, on an annual basis, to play at old folks parties, pantomimes, operas, charity concerts and fundraising events.