18th of November 2024

​

"The Leeds branch didn’t exist when, aged 14, I started going to sessions in the Regent and the Roscoe pubs with my family. I first heard about Comhaltas, when John Ferguson was talking about starting a branch in Leeds. John led the charge, along with his supporters, and the branch’s first meeting happened on the 24th of October 1969. My brother-in-law, Jackie Dwyer, was invited onto the new branch committee and was elected as Chairman and remained in that position for 30 years. Years later, while researching the history of the branch, I found my name in the junior members’ list in the very first minute book and discovered that Jackie had made me a member right from the start!

 

My first job for Comhaltas (CCÉ) was as adjudicator’s clerk, at a local fleadh in 1971, for the famous Paddy Ryan; and again in 1972, when I clerked for Kathleen Lawrie. In 1980, I took on my first major project for Comhaltas, (this needed lots of encouragement from John) as the CCE representative on the BBC Radio Leeds’s ‘If You’re Irish’. The radio show kept me busy for eight and half years, working first with BBC journalist Denis Walsh and then as producer and sole presenter, with help from a group of Comhaltas members.

 

John had to use a lot more encouragement to get me onto the branch committee in 1981, but once I had committed, I rapidly became involved in most of the branch activities – of which there were many! One was the choir, which was put together in 1985 to sing the O’Riada Mass in Irish at Leeds Cathedral - and I was proud to be part of that - eventually taking on the role of organiser of the choir, when John and Maureen Ferguson returned to Ireland in 2001. But my main involvement for the branch was with the scoraíochts and other shows: firstly co-producing 5 shows with John (1984-1988) and then taking over as sole producer from 1989 -2019. We had All Ireland successes under John’s control in 1983 and then jointly with myself, before those extra special days, when we saw our youngsters blossoming - taking the All Ireland Scoraíocht title five years in a row (1995-1999). 

I started learning the banjo when I was in my late 30s - I knew I was never going to be a soloist: all I wanted was to be able to sit in on sessions alongside our Leeds musicians. Ambition achieved!

 

The Leeds branch is where I have spent a huge amount of time and effort over the past 55 years. I am grateful for all the friends I’ve made, and I am proud of the family feeling in our branch. I think that the 55th anniversary is particularly special, as the branch has an excellent committee that has successfully survived the turmoil of the pandemic and is still going strong on the other side. 

 

Leeds is ready, willing and able to meet all sorts of new challenges in the future and I can’t wait to see the exciting projects we have in the next couple of years."