There was a small bit of history made in Dingle this evening as the town’s famous Fife and Drum band marched the streets in celebration of Nollaig na mBan for the first time – and it was well-received despite some less-than-ideal weather.

There was a small bit of history made in Dingle this evening as the town’s famous Fife and Drum band marched the streets in celebration of Nollaig na mBan for the first time – and it was well-received despite some less-than-ideal weather.

There were heavy showers throughout the day in Corca Dhuibhne, but the band set off from their starting point at O’Flaherty’s Bar at 6pm, and after marching through the streets, they reached their end point, the boatyard, welcomed by a gathering of about 50 people – all as planned.

Before the band completed their route, many onlookers followed the music around the town, while people who’d taken for shelter in some of Dingle’s many watering holes popped outside the door again to greet the band as they passed.

“People liked it,” band member Declan Malone told The Kerryman after the parade, and he praised the stewards and guards for their help. “And we had a few Ukrainians out around the town with us for Ukrainian Christmas, so it was nice to tie in with that as well.”

 

It’s little surprise the band was given a warm reception. New Year’s Eve celebrations were quieter in Dingle this year, and not just because of a (mercifully) smaller crowd gathering at the small bridge and the bottom of Main Street before midnight. The Fife and Drum, a staple of New Year’s Eve in Dingle, did not march this year, citing the massive crowd of revellers who go to the bridge each year – and the safety concerns associated with marching in that environment – as the factor driving their decision.

But Declan said tonight’s march should not necessarily be looked at as merely an alternative to the New Year’s Eve parade.

“It’s not one in exchange for the other,” said Declan. “I couldn’t say it’s being done in place of New Year’s Eve. But we decided to go out and celebrate Mná na hÉireann, and especially the women of west Kerry, at a time when it’s possible to march around the town.”

Local stakeholders took a number of measures – such as not having a countdown clock or street-side barriers – to calm the rush to the bridge before 12 on New Year’s Eve last week, and they appear to have been successful, with numbers at the bridge and lower Main Street well down on the norm of recent years. Declan did not say there are any concrete plans for the Fife and Drum to resume their New Year’s Eve tradition should the smaller numbers seen in 2022 hold in the years ahead, but he did say the band would love to be there to ring in the New Year again at some point in the future.

“The band would love to be out on New Year’s Eve if it was possible to do it…but you’d have to be able to get around the streets without needing an army of stewards,” he said. “It would be really nice to see New Year’s Eve calm down enough to go back to a tradition that is dearly valued by the band and the people of Dingle.”

Source: A little bit of history in Dingle as Fife and Drum band marches on Nollaig na mBan