I once tried to learn how to play the bagpipes in the hopes of joining a local pipe band. I didn’t last very long. There weren’t enough hours in the day to learn the skills I would need to not sound like a dying animal, I was going to have to rob a bank to buy my own set of pipes and I was completely overwhelmed just thinking about the parade-filled month of March. I didn’t learn much musically, but my stint as an aspiring piper did show me first-hand the time, energy and deep commitment needed to create the astounding impact that a polished pipe and drum band can achieve.
It was with a renewed sense of awe that I admired dozens of pipe and drum bands march up Fifth Avenue each year on March 17 in the years that followed my failed attempt at piping, but perhaps no band packs a bigger punch that the FDNY Emerald Society Pipe and Drum Band. The celebration of their 50th Anniversary this year is a huge testament to the great strength, dedication and passion of the hundreds of current and former members of the band.
The band started in the South Bronx 1962 with 17 Emerald Society members who took on the enormous challenge of learning to play, raising funds for uniforms and instruments, and getting ready to March up 5th avenue on St. Patrick’s Day the following year. I spoke with Bill Duffy, one of the founding members of the band and their original pipe major, who expressed the pride he felt watching the band grow in numbers, talent, and professionalism, over the 50 years. Today the band consists of over 90 members who all practiced tirelessly to audition for the band. “When they finally get it, it feels really great,” Bill said. Many of the members have represented the band in prestigious piping competitions including the All-Irelands, where they won 2nd place in 2006 – a reminder that the band is not only well respected here in the Big Apple, but also within the world-wide piping community.
When I asked Bill to describe the early days of the band he laughed and said “meager, but very fun.” Our conversation turned to the social aspects of the band – the appearances at parties and weddings, the life-long friendships formed among band members, and of course the countless parades. About all of the events that come along with being a member, he said “I wouldn’t have a social life at all if it wasn’t for the band.” I smiled as I thought about the hundreds of social functions that wouldn’t have been the same without Bill and his band mates.
In the midst of the parades and weddings there are the solemn events – the funerals and memorials where the sound of bagpipes serve as a poignant tribute to those who have passed. In the wake of 9/11 the band played at over 400 funerals and memorial services. “Playing for brothers that we have lost is the band’s most important mission,” said current pipe major Ed Geraghty. The band also serves the community by playing at an array of charity events for countless organizations such as the Wounded Warrior Project, Wings Over Wall Street, and the Special Olympics to name a few. For their devotion to the city of New York, their pride in their heritage, their service to the community, and their presence at 50 years worth of the happiest and saddest events imaginable, I say big congratulations are in order.
How does a band with so much to celebrate commemorate their 50th anniversary? By teaming up with another well-loved New York City organization celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, the New York Mets. On May 25, all supporters of the FDNY are invited to Citifield to watch the band perform before the Mets take on the Padres. Purchase tickets in the Pepsi porch section at mets.com/FDNY and a portion of each ticket purchase will benefit the band. The band is also looking forward to their 50th Anniversary gala dinner celebration at Citifield on Sep. 15 and the completion of a documentary about the 50-year history of the band directed by one of their own members, Tim Geraghty. For more information on the band, their 50th Anniversary Celebrations, and how you can donate to their fund, visit fdnypipesanddrums.net.
For some Irish sounds around town this week check out MacTalla Mor at The Towne Crier Cafe in Pawling, NY on 5/11, Michael Brunnock at Rockwood Music Hall on 5/11, and Grainne Murphy and Kathleen Boyle at An Bael Bocht Cafe in the Bronx on 5/13.
