The earliest written evidence of a band in Maynooth was in 1796 when it led a parade of distinguished guests including “His Excellency The Lord Leuitenant” through the streets of the town to lay the foundation stone for the new additional buildings to St. Patrick\u2019s College, now one of the main Universities in the country.<\/p>\n
Funerals played a large part in the life of the Band in the late 19th Century when they attended the funerals of Daniel O\u2019Connell in 1847 and Charles Stewart Parnell in 1891. They also took part in the Commemoration Ceremonies for both patriots for many years afterwards and were also present at the unveiling of the memorial to Daniel O\u2019Connell in O\u2019Connell Street (then Sackville Street) in Dublin.<\/p>\n
The Band ceased to exist for a short while during the 1920\u2032s due to the “Troubles” (Civil War) when their instruments were destroyed in a blaze at the Town Hall caused by a unit of the IRA from a nearby town. The Band\u2019s revival began in 1930 with the assistance of the local Curate Fr. Tom Grogan who helped raise funds to buy new instruments and located a Bandmaster.<\/p>\n
The new Maynooth Band made its debut at a concert in the Leinster Hall, Maynooth, in August 1931 and has continued to grow in strength since then. Notable landmarks along the way were attending the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in 1932, the formation of a Boy\u2019s Band in 1955 extended to include girls in 1959 and being the only band present at the Papal Mass in Dublin\u2019s Phoenix Park in 1979. The Band have played before many dignitaries including Presidents De Valera, Childers, \u00d3\u2019D\u00e1laigh, Hillery, Robinson, Michael D Higgins and also the King and Queen of Spain.<\/p>\n
Competitively success has come their way at area competitions in Cavan, Cashel, Kilbeggan and Ballinrobe with their first major win coming in 1997 when taking the National Junior Concert Band Championship in Dublin. They also won the Best Band Award after leading the Kansas City, Missouri, USA, St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade in 1998. More recently the band achieved 1st place at the 2019 Celtic Band Festival Concert Competition<\/p>\n
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![\"1912](\"http:\/\/stmarysbandmaynooth.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/1912-Band.jpg\")
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