Fanfare as fife band plays at Kilkenny Castle

There was plenty of fanfare on the streets of Kilkenny on Sunday afternoon when the Sir Henry Inglesby's Fife & Drum Band marched through the city centre and entertained bystanders with their musical performance.

The Sir Henry Inglesby Fife and Drum Corps was founded in Carrickfergus in Co Antrim in 2009 and provides 17th century fife and drum music.

They are no strangers to Kilkenny and previously performed during Heritage Week in 2019 when they received a great reception from a captive audience. Their Napeoleonic and late 17th century uniforms are reproductions are as authentic as possible and they aim to promote music from the Scots Ulster tradition.

Due to the recent heatwave the steam locomotive, which was originally expected to make the journey to Kilkenny was not used.

“The train will still be of vintage stock but because of the recent heat wave and risk of line side fire from the steam engine the train will be diesel hauled. We should have had a running in trip earlier this month following extensive repairs again due to adverse weather conditions this was not possible.” said John Richardson of Sir Henry Inglesby's Fife & Drum Band.

The passengers onboard the train plus band pulled into MacDonagh Junction in style behind a 60 year old diesel locomotive at lunchtime on Sunday and included a group of 64 whiskey enthusiasts largely drawn from USA who were on a Whiskey on Tracks tasting experience.

The colourful procession of musicians then made their way through the city arriving at the Castle Park where they performed a concert.

“Thanks are due to he local gardaí and the staff at Kilkenny Castle for facilitating the visit. The appreciative audience were delighted to hear tunes from a world wide repertoire. It was an outstanding day and a great success,” added Mr Richardson.

The Sir Henry Inglesby Fife and Drum Corps aims to promote interest in fifing and drumming in the Scots-Irish tradition through performance and education.

The RPSI is a cross-border organisation founded in 1964, one of whose aims is to preserve these vintage steam engines, and they run these trips several times a year to different locations around Ireland.