North of Ireland Band Championships 1999
by Trevor Johnston
Saturday the 23rd of October 1999 saw, as always on the last Saturday of October, the Drogheda Brass Band making the big trip to Belfast to compete in the North of Ireland Band Championships in Belfast's Ulster Hall. But, this year saw one important difference - they were competing in the Championship Brass Section, the highest section and the highlight of the championships.
The test piece was "The Accursed Huntsman", composed by Cesar Franck and arranged by Edrich Siebert. The standard of the Championship Section in the North of Ireland Band Championships is much higher than that of the Championship Section in the Republic of Ireland Band Championships and this was obvious in the difficulty of the piece to be played.
Having this year won the Dublin Championships and the Second Grade Brass Section in Belfast for the previous two years, it was felt that it was time to move up into the top section in the Northern Championships. Competing with the likes of the First Old Boys Association Silver Band it would not be easy, and although it was not seriously expected to win, the Drogheda Brass Band hoped to be right up there with the other bands. And this is exactly what they did.
The eventual result was not, perhaps, everything that the band had hoped for, but what the placings don't show is how close the results were. Drogheda Brass Band finished in last place in the section, but with only a single point separating the last five placed bands out of the seven competing, adjudicator Derek Broadbent remarked how difficult it had been to separate all the competitors.
Results for the first three placed were:
| Band | Mark |
|---|---|
| First Old Boys' Association Silver Band | 187 |
| 55th Old Boy's Silver Band | 186 |
| Strabane Concert Band | 184 |
In the end, apart from the obvious disappointment of finishing in last place, the band was happy with its performance. It has proven it is one of the best brass bands in the Republic of Ireland and now has shown that it can compete with all of the best brass bands in the whole of Ireland...now let's see how they do in Birmingham!