We had an excellent junior session in The Elk last Sunday. Thanks to all those who came along to play and support the event. Particular thanks to Clodagh and Niamh for bringing their talented musicians all the way from Inishowen and Glengormley respectively.
Our regular monthly session will be held in The Elk this Thursday evening. The junior session starts at 7:30pm and the seniors start around 9:00pm

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We’ve a couple of busy weeks coming up.
Classes resume this Saturday following the mid term break.
Then, on Sunday, we’re having a junior session in The Elk starting at 1:30pm. Local musicians and music groups are invited to attend and we’ll also have visiting groups from The Ceolan School of Music in Inishowen, Donegal, and the Glengormley School of Traditional Music.
Our regular monthly session will be on Thursday, 5th March, in The Elk at the usual times of 7:30pm (junior) and 9:00pm (senior).
Finally, following the success of last year’s traditional breakfast, we’re having another one this year on Saturday, 14th March – more details soon.

Well done to everybody who took part at Ballymena Festival yesterday and congratulations to all those who were prizewinners.
The day got off to a great start with our primary school age group taking first place over a talented group from St. Bernard’s PS in Glengormley. The morning section (for primary school age competitors) continued with solo competitions where Caitriona Lagan was highly commended in the banjo/mandolin. Ellie Conway won the tin whistle with Roise McCloy being highly commended in the same event.
In the afternoon, our post primary age group (Roisin Magee, Caoimhe Purvis, Caoimhe O’Kane, Ciaron Bigmore, Padraig Mullan, Aoibhinn Young, Alannah Scott, Patrick Magee and Lile Keenan) was placed third (sadly, we have no pictures) before Caoimhe O’Kane won both the U-14 tin whistle and open traditional singing sections. Padraig Mullan was awarded third place in the U-14 tin whistle while Caoimhe also competed in the U-14 fiddle. See the photo gallery for more pictures.
A full list of results is available on the festival website – http://www.ballymenafestival.org.uk

There will be no classes this Saturday, 14th February or the following Saturday, 21st February due to a combination of the mid term break and Ballymena Festival. There will, however, be a practice tomorrow morning for both our groups who are playing at the festival. The primary school group practice is at 10:30am and the secondary school one is at 11:15am – both in Anahorish PS.

Our monthly session for February will be in The Elk on Thursday, 5th February, at 7:30pm (junior) and 9:00pm (senior).

Thanks to all who attended our trout supper last Saturday night in The Elk. A very enjoyable evening with good food and a variety of excellent entertainment. Thanks to everyone for their generosity – funds raised on the night will go towards the organisation of this year’s Derry fleadh and to help with our branch’s promotion of our culture through classes and other activities.

We’re holding a trout supper in The Elk on Saturday, 31st January at 8:00pm. Entertainment will be provided by Patsy O’Hagan and the Crawley Family. Admission is by ticket only and costs £12.50 per person. Some of the proceeds will go towards running this year’s Derry Fleadh which will be held in The Loup/Ballyronan on the weekend of 11-12 April. To order a ticket, contact any committee member or send an email to info@newbridge-cce.com.

Thanks to everyone who came along to our New Year session last week (see pictures below) – great night’s entertainment provided by over 60 musicians, singers, dancers and storytellers of all ages.

Classes resumed on Saturday, 10th January and will continue until Easter, with breaks on 14th and 21st February and 14th March.

Our first session of the New Year will be held in The Elk on Thursday, 1st January. Starting time for the junior/slow session is 7:30pm and the senior session gets under way around 9:00pm,

Congratulations to our members who were all successful in the recent LCM grade exams, namely Roisin Magee (grade 8 fiddle), Caoimhe Purvis (grade 6 fiddle) and Padraig Mullan (grade 6 tin whistle).

Thanks to all the young ones who came along to play a few tunes at the Charis Cancer Care Christmas Fayre in Magherafelt last Saturday, 29th November (pictured above).

Our monthly session for December was held last Thursday, 4th December, in The Elk. Both junior (pictured below) and senior sessions were very well attended and thoroughly enjoyed by all present.

Classes finish this Saturday for the Christmas break and resume on Saturday, 10th January, with registration from 10:00am..

Happy Christmas!!!

Our November sessions are being held in The Elk tomorrow night at the usual times of 7:30pm (junior) and 9:00pm (senior).
Classes also resume on Saturday morning following the Halloween break.
Finally, the Co. Derry AGM is being held next Wednesday night and we’ve been asked to submit our registration documentation, so anyone wishing to renew or take out membership of our branch should contact any committee member before Sunday.