Pride of Ballinran - Pride of Ballinran Annual Parade 2005

Pride of Ballinran Annual Parade 2005

Saturday 2nd July saw the 25th annual parade and competition held by the Pride of Ballinran in Kilkeel.

The host band paraded through the town before the parade commenced, stopping at Knockcree Avenue to lay a wreath at the Memorial Stone dedicated to those murdered by Republicans during the past 25 years. The march, "The British Legion", was played as a tribute.

The parade proper started shortly after that and first band on parade was Derryogue - a "part flute" band from Kilkeel (and, interestingly, the band for whom William Love wrote the march "The Capital of Mourne").

Approximately 40 bands took part in the parade, some coming as far as Castlederg, Ballymoney, Omagh and Magherafelt, and the standard in all categories was exceptional. The organisers really could not have hoped for a better turnout, and the judges had an exceptionally difficult task in deciding the prize-winners on the night.

In the “Blood and Thunder” category, East Belfast PB, Kilcluney Volunteers and Donaghadee Fusiliers gave their usual first class performances, as did Dunamoney from Magherafelt and the Sons of Ulster from Belfast on their 1st visits to Kilkeel. However, Drumderg Loyalists from Keady stole the show with their rendition of "The Last of the Mohicans". This even had people who wouldn't normally be fans of the "Blood and Thunder" style talking about them, and they deservedly won 1st place in that category.

In the “Melody Flute” category it was nice to see Omagh PB getting back to their best, however, the excellent Millar Memorial from Belfast were just too good on the night, winning several awards, and also taking 2nd place in the "Best Overall Band" category.

However, to the surprise of some, two accordion bands, Brunswick and Dunloy, really caught the judges’ eye winning a range of awards in musical and "marching and discipline" categories. Indeed, Brunswick were awarded Best Overall Band – a rare, but far from undeserved, reward for an excellent outfit.

The Results were as follows:

Senior Drum Major
1st Brunswick
2nd Dunloy
3rd Omagh PB

Junior Drum Major
1st Ballytyrone
2nd Clogher PB
3rd Blair Memorial (Omagh)

Colour Party
1st Pride of the Hill (Rathfriland)
2nd Drumderg
3rd DUP

Marching & Discipline (Style and Appearance)
1st Brunswick
2nd Dunloy
3rd Omagh PB

Part flute Band
1st Derryogue

Local Band
1st Orangefield

Musical Performance
1st Dunloy
2nd Brunswick

Accordian Band
1st Dunloy
2nd Brunswick

Melody Flute
1st Miller Memorial
2nd Ballycoan
3rd Omagh PB

Melody Drum Corps
1st Miller Memorial
2nd Brunswick
3rd (joint) Ballycoan & Dunloy

Melody Bass Drum
1st Miller Memorial
2nd Brunswick
3rd Dunloy

Cymbals
1st Miller Memorial
2nd Ballycoan

B&T Drum Corps
1st East Belfast PB
2nd Kilcluney
3rd Drumderg

B&T Bass Drum
1st Blair Memorial
2nd East Belfast PB
3rd Kilcluney

B&T Flute
1st Drumderg
2nd Kilcluney
3rd East Belfast PB

Small B&T (<16 flutes)
1. Bessbrook TB
2. Downshire Guiding Star

Overall
1st Brunswick
2nd Miller Mem
3rd Dunloy