History
Explore the history of the Christchurch Irish Society
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Through an instrument that acts as a timekeeper on one side and a moving display of Gaelic culture on the other, this month’s Heritage Corner introduces us to New Zealand’s earliest Irish Society Pipe Band. Much remains to be discovered about this beautifully decorated bass drum, with the most recent information forth coming in March 2024.
Pipe band photos in the history booklet, ‘Archives Build History’, show the bass drummer driving the band from the back and was therefore slightly ahead of the marchers. Its low-end sound boomed out, travelling both forward and rear wards, and as such, was an effective timekeeper for marching off the left foot. But sometimes the band did not march at all, standing to provide a guard of honour at a hall entrance to welcome and pipe-in guests. Most appearances, however, were outings in Christchurch and Upper Hutt, leading hurling and camogie players onto a field, Feis visitors from the train station to a meal at the St Asaph Street Hall or guiding young church goers to and from the Barbadoes Street Basilica. The half-yearly Minutes of November 1955 record a decision to form a ‘drum and fife band’, the reverse of the normal wording. Six months later, the AGM instituted the formation of a committee to bring such a band into being, and 20-year-oldMartin Cartwright earned the Pipe Major position under the tutelage of Jack Shanahan, a retired Caledonian Society piper. Public performances date from 1957, nine years after the Society’s formation and the earliest photo marks the initial march-out in October that year, though ironically not in the South Island. A band piper from around 1961 recently returned to Christchurch. Brian O’Brien, now aged 79, was shown a coloured photocopy of the drum. He revealed that there are four visible peripheral clips, their purpose being to secure to the drum a shaped piece of hardboard upon which the painted scene is mounted. It is not known when the hardboard was painted. The drum skin underneath is unpainted. Brian has a memory that the hardboard was sometimes removed and clipped to other drums of the same size, suggesting the Irish Society dance band under Arthur Debenham was a candidate. In 1947 the then Taoiseach Éamon de Valera visited the North Island of New Zealand. Unfortunately no Irish organisation had yet been established in the South Island that could receive an Irish dignitary and therefore he did not visit ChristchurchSo it was that in 1948 the Christchurch Irish Society was formed and held it’s first general meeting in May. There were six founding members: Paddy Kissane, Jim McGill, Bill Hickey, Bob Kelleher, Jack McSweeney and Jack Maloney. Jack Maloney had been involved in the 1916 uprising in Dublin, had been arrested by British forces and interned in a prison camp. He subsequently went on hunger strike for thirty six days before being released after the intervention of a friendly nation. Jack was also the last of the founding members to eventually pass away.  Cashel Street, High Street intersectionIt took until around 1955 for St. Asaph Street site of the Irish Society to be chosen and that property purchased for £1,750. Later the adjoining property was also purchased as the original property was not large enough to accommodate the planned Irish Society hall. The hall was built and officially opened on the 21st October 1961 by the Deputy Mayor of Christchurch, Mr C.R. Smith. The current site of the society in Domain Terrace was opened in 1978 and the St. Asaph Street property was sold as it was no longer fit for purpose. SearchFind Us |
