Well done to all our members who took part in Fleadh Cheoil Chontae Aontroim in Cushendall a couple of weeks ago, especially Siobhan Magee who was winner of the 15-18 concertina competition. Siobhan was also a member of the winning Ceoltoiri Crosskeys 15-18 Grupa Ceoil along with Roise McCloy, Caitriona Lagan and Annie Diamond. Congratulations as well to those who were members of winning grupai cheoil and ceili bands at O-18 level – Hugh Mulholland, Anthony Totten and Caoimhe O’Kane were part of the Ceoltoiri Crosskeys group while Hugh and Caoimhe also played in the Ceili Band competition representing Dunloy CCE. Best of luck to them all at the Ulster Fleadh in July and to those competing in the Derry Fleadh at the start of June.

County Derry Fleadh 2023 will be held in Dungiven from 5th – 11th June. All competitions will take place on Saturday, 10th June, in Gaelcholáiste Dhoire. Entries for the competitions are now open, with the deadline for all entries the 28th April. Any Newbridge CCE branch members wishing to compete should send their entries in via email (info@newbridge-cce.com), a message on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/newbridgecce) or by contacting any committee member. There’s no need to fill out the online form or make any payment – entry is free for Comhaltas members.

Fleadh competition rules are available at https://comhaltas.ie/images/press_room/rialacha_fleadhanna_ceoil_English.pdf

We’re happy to announce the return of our St. Patrick’s Day Big Trad Breakfast which is being held this year in The Old Thatch Inn, Castledawson. Music and food throughout the morning so bring an instrument if you fancy a tune – last plate served at 12:00pm sharp.

Following a three year break, our music classes start back this Saturday, 14th January, in Anahorish Primary school.

Whistle class 10.30am

Fiddle class 11.15am

We still have availability for Whistle and fiddle for beginners and intermediate level.

Registration from 10.15am

Price for the 10 week term is £45 for the first child and £35 for the second child or second class. (Adults are also welcome)

Price also includes Comhaltas membership.

Other classes can be facilitated if demand is there.

If you require any more information please feel free to contact us.

Congratulations to all our members who participated at the Ulster Fleadh in Dromore this weekend, especially those competitors who were among the prizewinners. Roise McCloy (15-18 flute) and Caitriona Lagan (15-18 miscellaneous) are Ulster champions for 2022 while Caitriona also qualified for the All-Ireland fleadh as runner-up in the Newly Composed Tune competition. She also achieved third place in the mandolin and Roise was placed third in three competitions – Newly Composed Tune, whistle and piano.

Well done, also, to our former class members and supporters, Aodhan and Oisin Black, who also qualified for the All-Ireland fleadh representing the Glens of Antrim branch. Oisin won the U-12 concertina, Aodhan was second in the U-12 banjo, and as a duet they finished in second place.

Good luck to all the qualifiers from Derry and Ulster as they head to Mullingar for the All-Ireland fleadh in a couple of weeks.

County Derry Fleadh 2022 will take place from the 27th-29th of May in The Loup. All competitions will be held on Saturday the 28th of May in St Patrick’s Primary School, The Loup. Fleadh entries are now open, with the deadline for all entries the 30th of April. Any Newbridge CCE branch members wishing to compete should send their entries in via email (info@newbridge-cce.com), a message on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/newbridgecce) or by contacting any committee member.

Fleadh competition rules are available at http://www.comhaltas.ie/…/rialacha_fleadhanna_ceoil…

Our AGM will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, 26th October, at 8:00pm.

Although our activities have been curtailed over the past 18 months, we’re starting to make plans for the upcoming year, so anyone interested in the development of the branch is invited to take part. As a voluntary organisation with limited resources we need skill sets and time from many different individuals and we welcome everyone to come along and join us in building and promoting our branch.

Anyone wishing to attend should PM your mobile number and/or an email address to this page or to Seamus on 07960 956 959.

We will hold our AGM on Wednesday 21st October at 7.30pm. Current executive guidelines do not allow us to meet in person so we will use the online Zoom portal for the meeting. The meeting will be open to everyone – if you wish to be a part of it please send your mobile number and/or an email address to Seamus on 07960 956 959.

At this time of year we would normally be preparing to resume our activities following the summer break. However, due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and the large amount of planning and implementation of mitigation measures required to run classes safely, our committee has regretfully decided that classes are to be postponed indefinitely. This decision hasn’t been taken lightly as our classes are the most important function we carry out as a group, but the safety of our members, pupils, tutors and volunteers is paramount.
It is also anticipated, at this time, that our monthly sessions will not be able to resume, as scheduled, in October. We do, however, hope to carry on with the virtual sessions we initiated earlier in the summer in an effort to increase the repertoire of our non-beginner pupils and would ask our parents to encourage all the children to continue practising in the knowledge that we’ll eventually be able to get back to face to face classes.
The above decisions will be constantly reviewed, with reference to Government and Comhaltas advice/regulations as the situation evolves.
We know this news will be disappointing for many but ask for understanding and patience in these unusual times. We’re also available and happy to help with any queries our members might have – just send a PM/email/text at any time and we’ll get back to you.