26th August saw the annual end of year BBQ take place in the Rambling House, just outside Ballyroan. This annual Spink Comhaltas event has grown in size over the last number of years, and this year the BBQ had in excess of 140 attendees. The BBQ is a great celebration of all of the wonderful achievements of the musicians and the members of the branch over the course of the year, and traditionally takes place at the end of August.
2017 was another successful year, with success in competitions at county, provincial and All Ireland level, both for groups and individuals. Highlights of the year included our U12 Ceili Band reaching the All Ireland finals. Our candidates who sat the Comhaltas SCT exams did exceptionally well, with a number of them achieving distinctions and one candidate winning the prestigious Michael O’hUigeann gold medal.
In addition to great food, the BBQ featured a travelling pet zoo, with number of exotic animals including a huge python snake. There was great music, song and dance to entertain the guests during the evening.
Spink Comhaltas introduced the “Spink Ceoltóir” medal to be awarded to musicians turning 18 to recognise them for their contribution, and to encourage them to retain links with Spink Comhaltas into the future.
Finally, the annual “Stella Lynch” award to recognise outstanding individual contributions was awarded jointly to Mark Vesey and Ian Rowland.
