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Welcome to the Irish Snug Podcast.
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Today on the Irish Snug Podcast, we have Tom McLaughlin, a Dublin Fire Brigade firefighter, fire chief, uh, longtime member of the Dublin Fire Brigade Pipe Band.
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He is a former band chairman and longtime friend of the New York City Fire Department Pipe Band.
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Tom, welcome to the Irish Snug.
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Thanks very much, and great to be here.
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This is my little pub setup.
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How are you?
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I'm doing great.
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I'm doing great.
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Yeah, I don't know if uh so when I first started this podcast about a year ago, it was first called Pubs and Pints.
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Um what happened was there was uh there's a podcast here uh it with FDNY that uh it's called uh Getting Salty.
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I know the guy who runs it.
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Yeah, he asked me to be on his podcast.
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This is like you know, like a little over a year ago, and I was kind of reluctant.
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I didn't I honestly didn't want to go on it, but he talked me into it because he's a friend of mine and I like him.
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We we both got promoted to lieutenant together back in 02, and uh I said, All right, I'll do it.
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Um, but I told him, I said, I you know, his podcasts are like two hours long, and I'm like, I don't have two hours worth of material.
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He's like, Oh, you just write down some stuff, you know.
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And I wrote down a bunch of things, and I do the podcast, two hours goes by, and I didn't even get to a quarter of what I had on my list.
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Yeah, so what happens is you go down these rabbit holes anyway.
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After that experience, that was what gave me the idea of doing my own podcast, but you know, not fire related, but something that I'm passionate about, which is Ireland and you know, my Irish heritage.
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So I started Pubs and Pints thinking that I would go to pubs in Ireland and and make like the podcast about individual pubs.
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Yeah, not just in Ireland, but anywhere, any any Irish pub.
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But the logistics behind that were crazy.
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It was I tried it like two or three different times, it's just too much, like to have to go there, set up.
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I would have needed like a team of people, and then I came up with this idea of just doing like a remote podcast like this, yeah.
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And it's just better, you know.
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I I like to just talk to people, that's really what it's about.
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Well, it's funny you say that because when when it was first muted to me about coming on doing the podcast, which uh I think it was John Daly, who initially said it to me after you were speaking to him, and I was going, Nah, that's that's not for me, I'm not doing that, you know.
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Uh like yourself, you know, wasn't into the the stories and stuff like that.
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But of course, yeah, knowing you, Tim, and uh and having listened to some of the podcasts, I said, Yeah, sure, look it.
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You know, why not?
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You know, have a chat.
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It's just like sitting in a snug and uh and uh going over a couple of stories.
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So that's really the and that's really the concept because think about it.
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You're sitting in a in a you're sitting in a snug with a pint, a couple friends, maybe a stranger, yeah uh and sometimes you have the greatest conversations.
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Absolutely, but then that's it, it's over.
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You know, but but what what tends to happen, Tim, is that you know the couple of pints is uh is quite important because the the barriers come down, you're starting to be a bit more relaxed, and the stories just start to flow a bit better.
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I remember saying to you, do you I think I thought initially that there was going to be me and say John and or Jerry Devine uh sitting in a snug somewhere in Dublin having a couple of pints, and then you were gonna beam in.
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Uh and I said, Oh, that that sounds like a plan, you know, and we'll get out for a few pints and tell a few stories, but uh but that wasn't the plan, but that's how I envisaged it at the start, you know.
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But uh yeah, I'd say the stories probably would have been slightly different if that was the case, you know, but uh but I get the concept, yeah.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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They they definitely would go different.
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And you know what?
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As this evolves, maybe maybe we will do like a remote thing when I I'll be in Dublin in October.
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Maybe I bring you know a camera or two and we just kind of set up and do that as a you know, as a as a second part.
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Yeah, we'll see.
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Yeah, yeah.
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All right, I I uh obviously knew it was coming on today, and uh I was trying to think about my first interaction with the FDMY in particular, the FDMY Pipe Band.
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And uh I I joined the Fire Service there, Dublin Fire Service as a retained part-time firefighter in 1988.
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Load full transcript
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That's that's sort of like a volunteer almost, right?
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Here is that.
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It's it's it's similar to the volunteer, only paid part-time.
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So you get you get a wage and you become an employee of Dublin Fire Brigade, Dublin City Council, or Dublin Corporation, as it was at the time.
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So they call that retained?
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That's what they call it.
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Retained, yeah.
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And primarily the country or Ireland, the country is primarily retained that you have uh firefighters hired on a part-time basis, and they carry, you get their train and they carry a paider like a bleeper, uh, and they have a certain amount of time to get from wherever they are to their to their station and respond to whatever the call may be.
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Now it's quite difficult.
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And I did that for nearly 15 years, and I have to say I was glad to see the back of it because it it was it it uh it took over your life, your family life, your social life.
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Uh it was it was quite tough to do it, you know.
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But but I I joined that in 1988 and uh obviously a young 23-year-old uh delighted to be involved in it and uh had an interest in it.
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But in I remember in nine a year later in 1989 um the double Farbigate pipe band were were uh joining the FDNY pipe band at a function in Malahy Castle, which is where I live here in Malahy.
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And uh we were asked to bring the fire truck up and uh kind of just be there while the the pipe bands were there.
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That was my first uh interaction really with both the Dublin Firebigay Pipe Band and the FDMY pipe band.
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And uh I actually went back over a couple of old photographs and I found a photograph of my mother who's since deceased, with uh members of the FDMY pipe band.
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It was quite pinant to look back on that, you know.
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Um that's great.
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Yeah, yeah.
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So and uh it was on that not until 1992 then I decided that you know, look at I'm I'm gonna do this, and I and I ended up joining at the Dumbler Farbigate pipe band, and then kind of the rest is history we our relationship with yourself and the the FDMI since then has been huge.
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You know, I was in Malahyde probably two years ago.
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We played golf at uh Port Marnock.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Are you a golfer?
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No, no, no, yeah.
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I think it doesn't matter.
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Yeah.
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I think it ruins a good walk.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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That's all right.
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That's good.
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Can you give us a quick background before the fire department?
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Do you like you did you grow up in what was it, Malahyde?
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You grew up.
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Yeah, yeah.
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So so uh my mother my mother's from Longford, County Longford, yeah, so in the middle of the country.
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Um and my father is from uh uh County Roscommon, um, small place outside El Finn, tiny little village there.
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And they moved they moved to to Malahyde in in the north county Dublin, kind of a seaside town, as you know, you were you have been here uh many, many moons ago.
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Uh and I was born at home.
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Yeah, I wasn't born at the hospital, born at home.
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So uh uh many years ago.
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And uh yeah, I've been I've been in Malahy, I've been living in Malahy ever since.
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Um and it's been it's been great.
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Went to school here, um, married, three kids, all my kids went to school here, um, all grown up now and all doing very well.
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Yeah, and then obviously got involved with with the the fire, Dublin Fire Brigade in 1988.
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I would have worked prior to that in retail.
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I would have done a bit of uh uh security work for a large retail Queensworth, it was called at the time, um, and I would have done some security and some close protection work for for uh you might have heard of a guy called Don Tidy, who was kidnapped by the IRA uh back in 1993.
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So I was a bit of close protection with him for a number of years uh uh before getting promoted in the retail.
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And then obviously, having joined the retained Dublin Fire Brigade retained service back in 88, did that for a number of years, and then I would have I wouldn't have been I would have been looking to do full-time, get a full-time role with Dublin Fire Brigade, it wasn't happening for me.
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Uh, and ended up doing a few years working for the Irish prison service, the correction service.
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I worked in Mount Rai Prison for a number of years.
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Uh a couple of interesting stories about that, and then um was lucky enough to get uh a full-time post with uh Dublin Fire Brigade in 2003, and uh I'm still there.
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Uh and look at uh the the the connection then like it's very short after I joined the retained service in 88 and I ended up joining the pipe band in 1992.
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There was myself and Stephen Pender, Steel, uh who went down to the OBI on a Monday night to join up with the band, and I had an interest in playing the drums, and Steel had an interest in playing the pipes.
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So when we went in the door, Steel went off to the piping practice and I went into the drumming section uh and obviously stayed there ever since.
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Steel, on the other hand, did a good few years piping and then decided to come over to the to the the happy side over to the drummers.
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As John as John Daly would say, the musician side.
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Well, you know, the guys with a bit of personality, I would say, you know.
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Uh as you said earlier on, I I I in numerous different roles within the executive of the band down through the years, holding the post of uh committee member, secretary, chairman for a number of years, and uh was heavily involved in in in uh the work we do here.
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As you know, we're all all the pipe bands are busy all the time.
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There's always plenty of uh functions and gigs to attend, and then obviously our trips overseas, uh obviously to the States and further afield.
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Uh, in fact, my first my first trip with the band, myself and Steel, actually, our first trip with the band after joining in 1992 was in 1993 when we were invited over to Moscow in in Russia.
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Um not sure where we're going now, but we went to 1933 uh for the 75th anniversary of their fire department at the time, and we went there for a week.
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Uh I can't remember the um it was about 26 of us, I think, that went over.
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And so we played a few gigs over there.
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Now we were treated like like royalty, uh nearly treated like diplomats when we were there.
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Uh, and that was my first uh my first trip away, and it was I have to say, it was memorable.
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A lot of stories there, uh, some good stories, some funny stories, some of you probably wouldn't repeat on a podcast.
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Um uh there's there's uh there's a saying that uh well a lot of firemen say this it's it's you can remember a third of your stories.
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You can't remember the other another third of the stories, and the other third you can't tell.
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No, your current you can't tell.
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But I will tell you one small little little story.
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You you uh you know Paul Shannon, everyone knows Paul Shannon involved at the one for every game.
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Yeah.
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And Paul Paul was heavily a Paul, I think, was the secretary of the band at
the time, uh uh, and very much the organiser himself and Damien Fines uh very much the organisers of the the what went on in the band.
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Sorry, we all went over to to Moscow, super trip, you know.
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And of course, Paul Shannon uh uh doesn't drink alcohol, never, never did, and uh and never does.
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Uh but while we were there, we were going to function after function, and uh we went to one particularly important function uh where there was a few kind of chiefs and some diplomats and some leaders of the the organization there.
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And I remember we were sitting around this big massive table, and they had like guys come around filling our glasses, and of course, they all wanted to make speeches, and and for the speeches they used to fill this little shot glass with with kind of a hundred percent Russian vodka.
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And we were trying our best to drink some of it, but not drink it because we knew if we start drinking all of this stuff, you know, we were going to be on the floor.
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Uh and uh but we did our best, uh and of course uh Paul Shannon, who who didn't take a drink at all, ended up having a few of these shots uh of of vodka.
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Oh boy, he's right, yeah.
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Uh and while we talk about it this day, um uh he was in a serious state for for a day or two after that.
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Um and it's it's a it's a very funny story, and there's other funny stories, you know, uh around that.
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But uh that was the the one and only time that Paul Shannon had uh any alcohol when he was involved with the Verbrigade Pipe Band.
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Wow.
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Um uh and we learned we we myself and John and and and John McNally, the current chairperson of the band, we we went down to visit Paul Shannon there recently.
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He's he's um uh it's important that I talk about him when I'm talking about the one with Furbergate Pipe Band.
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Went down to visit him, he's in a nursing home in Melute, uh County Kildare.
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And he's in great form, he's in really good form.
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Um uh obviously getting on in age and the health is not great, but uh loves the stories, loves recounting the stories.
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And uh the last day we were down with him, he broke into a few songs, uh, which was quite entertaining, I have to say.
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Ah so yeah, now it's good.
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I took a couple of videos of him and uh uh I shared him with the band members, and it was it was it was great, it was great, you know.
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So we keep we keep in touch with him.
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So um throughout the years you've been a very close friend with the FDNY pipe band, but you know, being from Dublin, I'm sure you you've been created friendships all over the world, I obviously Moscow, but where where are other what are the other places around the world that uh you've traveled to or people have traveled to you and you've become you know close friends similar to how FDNY is with you guys?
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Well uh uh so so it's important to mention the FDNY.
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Like we obviously we met, as I said, uh my first interaction with them was was in 1989, and then my first trip then to to New York, my first ever trip to New York uh with the band uh was in 1994.
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Uh and we were going over there um uh and at the time we were there uh the World Cup, the uh the World Cup was on, and and uh Ireland were in the World Cup at that time, Jack Charlton was our manager, and it was a great time.
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And I remember we were over there, um beautiful weather, um, and the Ireland were playing Norway in joint stadium, and myself and my now wife Tina, um both big soccer fans, um we hadn't tickets, we didn't have tickets for the game, and most people had tickets, and tickets were hard to come by.
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Um, but as it happened, we were in with the band, we were over at the uh New Jersey Garden State Irish Festival.
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We were at that, it was a big event and that was on, uh loads of uh entertainment there.
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The wolf tones were playing, so it was a really good day with a couple of bears, and we'd still know tickets for the game, and the game was on in a day or two later.
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Um but I remember we were walking around, and as we were walking around, we noticed this guy pushing a baby's buggy and stuck to the baby, the front of the baby was a little sign saying two tickets to the Ireland Norway game for sale.
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So we stopped him and said, Look at what's the what's the deal with the tickets, you know?
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And he says, Yeah, I'm selling two tickets, I can't make it$130 each, which would have been quite expensive at the time.
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Right.
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So I I tried to haggle with him a bit on the price, and uh he he wasn't budgeting.
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But I was wearing a a Dublin Fire Brigade Fire Brigade um baseball cap.
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And he said, I'll tell you what, I'll give them to you for$120 each if you give me the baseball cap.
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And I went, fair enough, we're here, we want to get the tickets.
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So I gave him the I gave him the the baseball hat, he gave me the two tickets,$240, and we went to the uh we ended up going to the Ireland Norway Game and Giants Stadium, which was fantastic, you know.
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Uh obviously met met up with the FDMY guys and on that particular trip.
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I think we if I'm not mistaken, we played we played down in Scarsdale together at a gig down there, it was part of the Irish festival thing.
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Um but getting back to your your original question, and we've been back and forth obviously a number of times, you know, both uh ourselves going to New York and New York coming to be coming to us.
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But um we've done a good view of the States um over the years.
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Uh uh we've been to our our last trip there was to Palm Beach in Florida, Delray Beach in Florida, uh for their Patrick's Day parade last year, which was excellent.
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A good group of us went over to that.
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Uh and that would have been my probably my third time in Delray for the parade in Delray.
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Uh and Delray is great because you get to meet not only your FDNY colleagues, you get to meet the guys from DC and Greater Boston and Palm Beach.
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And uh so it's a great, it's a great time for us all to get together, not not just for pipe band stuff, but but but for meeting for a few beers, a bit of crack and did did you go to the bar uh Johnny Brown's while you were there?
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The one that's right on the railroad track?
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Oh, with the on the corner at the railroad track.
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Yes.
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Yeah, not not this time we didn't go there, but we've been there before.
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Yeah, that that's pretty that's like atmosphere when they they they're all in cahoots with the guy who drives the train and it goes through like every hour and the band stops playing, everybody's like quiet.
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Yeah, the train comes by, they honk the horn, everybody goes crazy.
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Yeah, and then the countdown happens again, like because it's an hour later.
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It's it's great atmosphere there.
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No, it's good, and we we've thoroughly enjoyed our time there.
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Um, and obviously we've been to uh we've been to Washington, DC, um, we've been to Chicago, we've been to Kansas, we went to the Paddy's Day Parade in Kansas, that was really good.
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Um yeah, and even closer it feels we did the Patrick's Day Parade in London, we did Patrick's Day Parade in Belfast.
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Uh we did uh a gig over in uh in Ghent and Belgium there a couple of years ago.
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Um so yeah, we've been around.
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I have to say, you know, and I often say to people that were in the fire brigade here, you know, join the pipe band and see the world, and it's exactly what actually happens, and I try to encourage people to join the band.
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Um but anyone involved in it with who's done any trips away, and even with the the groups coming coming to Dublin as well to meet with us, it's been just fantastic.
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Like even last Patrick's Day, uh we'd like we had a number of uh bands over for St.
00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:07.279
Patrick's Day, and uh we'd with a great parade, great bit of sunshine, and with a great after party, and it was excellent, you know.
00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:08.640
I wish we could do it.
00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:11.839
I wish the the the th issue with us is it's always on St.
00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:15.279
Patrick's Day, and we're never gonna miss the New York City St.
00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:16.640
Patrick's Day Parade.
00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:20.000
You know, no, and and uh and of course the St.
00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:25.279
Patrick's Day Parade in in New York is just it's like it's it's fantastic, it's huge.
00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:29.119
Uh I'm not sure what year, I think we did it in '96.
00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:32.000
Uh thoroughly enjoyed it in '96.
00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:38.319
And then obviously uh the after party back to the armory afterwards, and uh and all that went with that.
00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:51.039
Over the few days that we were there, or the member hadn't gone out on Marine one out onto the water out to the Statue of Liberty, and really well looked after, which is which is which is what normally happens, which is really good.
00:20:51.680 --> 00:21:14.559
Um and uh so a massive relationship there and and obviously made some really good friends while we were there and over the years, and and I think then uh the time after that, I think unfortunately the next time after that that I went would have been in after 9-11 uh when we went over to the Broncos funeral.
00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:20.079
Um so that was that was uh that was a tough time, but uh but we were we were delighted to be there.
00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:25.279
Only a small group of us went over, I think it was five or six of us went over uh for the funeral.
00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:34.400
And uh um but e even though it's a it's a it's it was a terrible time and a sad time, it it's it sticks in your memory.
00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:38.000
It's uh one of those memorable times in your visit to New York, you know.
00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:41.119
Yeah, yeah, that was that was those were tough times.
00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:47.680
I I can tell you my first time I met the Dublin Fire Brigade guys was uh it was in 1995.
00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:50.400
We there was a bunch of us that came over.
00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:59.680
Well, there's five of us, and in including Bronco, Joe Murphy, uh Liam, um Tom.
00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:01.119
Tommy Caneen.
00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:05.279
Uh there was a couple guys, you know, there was like I think there was five or six of us.
00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:09.920
And we went to
the Rosa Trilli festival and we marched with you guys.
00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:13.359
That was 1995, and they have they had their parade.
00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:14.799
So we marched with you guys.
00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:17.359
And that was when I first met John Daly.
00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:22.559
That's when I first met uh Peter Hetterman, who I wanted to have never heard of him.
00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:25.519
I wanted to kill him.
00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:35.599
We were staying in some uh we were staying with Arbor gate in like some school, like the gym, the gym floor or something.
00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:36.000
Yeah.
00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:38.480
Like the mats, that's what we were sleeping on.
00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:39.039
Yeah, yeah.
00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:45.599
I remember being hung over one morning and and header is this is my first introduction to Pete Hederman.
00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:50.720
And he's he's got a broomstick and he's going, Wakey, wakey, wakey, wakey's he's poking us.
00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:53.279
And we're like, get the hell out of here.
00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:55.519
Yeah, oh my god, I wanted to kill him.
00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:57.519
But then, you know, you learn to love him.
00:22:57.680 --> 00:22:59.680
He was uh he was quite the character.
00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:06.960
I remember he had a he had a business card that he would hand everybody, and it said Peter Hederman, ladies' man.
00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:14.000
Yeah, uh Peter Peter's great, and there's just loads of stories of Peter.
00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:16.160
He was very entertaining on the trips.
00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:28.160
When we used to go on the trips to the States, and you know they're always a long haul trip, so it's a long-haul flight, and there may be a connecting flight, and then there may be a two or three hour coach journey to your final destination.
00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:32.799
I remember we went to Florida and DC one year, and it was a good bit of travelling in between.
00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:39.119
Uh, and of course, you'd be all fairly tired from one thing and another, and of course, having a couple of beers on the bus.
00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:51.599
But Heather would be able to walk the in between the seats of the bus from the time he left wherever we were leaving to our destination, and he'd be entertaining the crowd.
00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:59.759
He would have the energy to just keep going, and the laugh and the crack and the singing and the beers, it was just it was a lot.
00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:01.440
There were great, great, great memories.
00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:02.400
Yeah, you know what?
00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:04.319
And you have to have that guy.
00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:20.880
You know, we have we always had that guy back in you know, when I first came into Binya, guys like Gene Freyer, who was that was a guy that could roast anybody, he could roast the president of the United States and and get away with it because that's just the personality he
had.
00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:26.880
And his voice, he could sing, he'd write songs and talk about entertainment, him, John Cox.
00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:27.759
Oh my god.
00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:28.079
Yeah.
00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:35.279
Yeah, I always remember Heather's Heather's uh party piece used to be the uh River Dance Dance.
00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:37.359
That's that was a sight to see.
00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:40.160
You know, sure it was a sight to see.
00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:44.400
But but uh but Heather's he he uh he was unwell for a little while there.
00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:48.079
He took a bit of a break from the band, and thankfully now he's back with us.
00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:50.960
He's been he's been back playing a few gigs and so on.
00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:52.559
And Bobby, his brother, is there as well.
00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:55.599
And yeah, some of the old stalwarts are still knocking around.
00:24:55.759 --> 00:25:22.720
We're we're we're some people would say we're an aging band, but we are of course, and like like the FDMY, there's there's a lot of the older guys there, and uh there's a lot of new lads coming through, and new lads uh learning the pipes and drums, new lads taking on committee roles and executive roles, and uh so hopefully the future is bright for for the band, you know, when the when the older guys are starting to slow down a little bit.
00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:26.640
Yeah, you need that younger generation coming through for sure.
00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:28.319
Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:31.920
Yeah, new personalities, new humour, all of it.
00:25:32.079 --> 00:25:32.960
Yeah, it's important.
00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:34.319
Yeah, yeah.
00:25:34.480 --> 00:25:51.759
Um I meant to say to you there, when I was talking to you about the 94 trip as a side note to that, um so the the trip was announced in 94 that we're they were going over to the World Cup uh to New York, and uh myself and uh my now wife Tina were getting married in '94.
00:25:52.240 --> 00:25:55.119
Uh and obviously we were saving our money and whatever.
00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:59.599
Uh and we said that look, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you know, trip to New York.
00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:04.799
We hadn't been to New York, and of course the World Cup, we hadn't obviously the World Cup was important, you know.
00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:12.559
So we scratched the wedding and uh decided to take the trip instead, and then we got married in '95.
00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:15.039
And we always get reminded of that story.
00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:18.000
So so uh yeah, it was worth doing.
00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:21.119
Is she the one that reminds you of of it all the time?
00:26:21.359 --> 00:26:22.079
Yeah, well, I don't know.
00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:24.160
She was uh she was all for it at the time.
00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:25.119
No problem at all, you know.
00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:26.880
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:28.240
So it's
good, yeah.
00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:39.599
And I remember then, I remember the FDMY came over to I think it was the All Irelands in in Letter Kenny in Donegal in uh 2006, I think.
00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:40.640
Yeah, I was there.
00:26:40.720 --> 00:26:40.880
Yeah.
00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:42.400
Yeah, you were there for that one.
00:26:42.480 --> 00:27:17.200
Um we stayed uh and we we were using the we were using the forest station as a base because the the the competition was in the green area across from the forest station and uh I remember contacting the uh the station after captain at the time or in your terms uh in in the other Kenny Forest Station, Mick Malloy, uh, and saying to him, Look, is there any chance that you know we're gonna be there uh taking part in the competition and we've a we have a gang coming over from New York with the only chance we could use the facilities of the station, you know?
00:27:17.440 --> 00:27:19.680
And he said, Absolutely no problem at all.
00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:25.359
You know, that kind of I suppose brotherhood is there alive and well, no problem at all.
00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:28.559
So we went down and we actually did take over the places you might remember.
00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:44.559
Um was great, and uh and it's great to see Mick Malloy, that particular guy, uh has been friends with us ever since and has done a few trips away with us with the band, and we still chat to him to this day.
00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:47.599
My father was with me on that trip.
00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:48.400
Oh, really?
00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:53.279
Yeah, he was there, and uh I've been to Letter Kenny since then, too.
00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:58.799
And there's the pub the pub that I remember going to that's 2006, right?
00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:05.440
Yeah, there's there's a pub in town there now, it's McGinley's Now, but I don't think it was called McGinley's back then.
00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:07.440
It was a great pub.
00:28:07.599 --> 00:28:14.880
We remember up the upstairs, very, very uh authentic type Irish pub, really nice place.
00:28:15.279 --> 00:28:17.920
I love I love Letter Kenny, it's a good great town.
00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:19.759
Yeah, I've been up a few times.
00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:22.559
I've actually met Mick Malloy a few times up there.
00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:24.720
Um and I've just noticed there.
00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:27.839
My young lad plays plays soccer, he's back playing soccer now again.
00:28:27.920 --> 00:28:37.839
He was injured there for a while, and he's just got his fixtures for the the coming season, and Letter Kenny is on the on the fixture list, so we'll be back up there very soon, you know.
00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:50.720
You know, uh as a side note, because I don't want to forget to tell you this, but um I didn't realize you were from Malahyde, but a buddy of mine, uh Timmy Murphy, just landed in Ireland this morning.
00:28:50.880 --> 00:29:00.400
He um yeah, he he flew out last night, he landed
this morning, and I think he's staying in Malahyde for three nights.
00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:03.279
You know, sorry to uh pass all my details.
00:29:03.519 --> 00:29:11.599
This is a guy that I that you know I go to Ireland every October with uh a group of ten guys, and we do a pub crawl in a different part of Ireland.
00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:16.160
Every uh we've been doing this is this year, this October is we are 11th year.
00:29:16.480 --> 00:29:18.160
And we it's just three nights.
00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:19.200
It's a three night pub.
00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:22.720
I told this to John Daly, he's around Ireland for three nights.
00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:28.079
He when I was in the last time I was in Dublin with these guys, he he met up with us.
00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:35.359
I don't know if you were there that night, but um we'll be in Dublin again this October for one night.
00:29:35.519 --> 00:29:38.799
We're going to Belfast for two nights, then we're gonna be in Dublin for one night.
00:29:39.039 --> 00:29:46.559
Because you're saying Timmy Murphy's there, but are you are you over for your your three days uh pulbcroft in October?
00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:51.279
Yeah, that's what we're gonna be in Belfast for two nights and and Dublin for one night.
00:29:51.680 --> 00:29:52.640
I'll let you know.
00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:54.079
Do you let you know?
00:29:54.160 --> 00:30:02.400
I told Jerry Devine, I told uh John Daly, uh, you know, just letting guys know that we're we are gonna be there for one night, so we'll hook up for some.
00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:04.319
We'll hook up for a point, yeah.
00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:06.000
I'm actually in Belfast next week.
00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:08.960
We're going up to uh we're going up to the flour.
00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:10.559
The flour's on in Belfast now.
00:30:11.519 --> 00:30:16.160
Yeah, my um so my cousin Dawn Doherty, she's uh a musician.
00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:19.119
She usually wins those things for this slow air.
00:30:19.200 --> 00:30:20.880
She's uh tin whistle plays a tin whistle.
00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:21.599
Oh, okay.
00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:23.759
She's from Mayo, but she lives in New York.
00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:30.079
She lives um she has a school, a music school, an Irish music school in Woodlawn in the Bronx.
00:30:30.640 --> 00:30:38.720
All right, Yonkers, whatever you want to that's uh but yeah, she's a very, very good tin whistle player.
00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:41.920
She's she's been on my podcast, but she'll be at the fly.
00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:45.119
If you're there, look for the tin whistlers.
00:30:45.440 --> 00:30:47.599
All right, and she's gonna give me a name again.
00:30:48.319 --> 00:30:49.599
Uh Dawn Daugherty.
00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:54.319
She has a son, he's I don't know, he's maybe eight or nine, I don't even think he's eight years old.
00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:56.480
He's gonna be competing as well.
00:30:57.119 --> 00:31:04.480
Oh, but you'd love to listen to her play because
I think she's won the whole thing like a few times, at least once.
00:31:05.039 --> 00:31:06.960
Well, I I'll certainly look out for her, yeah.
00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:07.920
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:08.960
Yeah, that'd be interesting.
00:31:09.039 --> 00:31:10.559
I'll just I'll certainly look her up.
00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:12.319
Uh looking forward to going up there, actually.
00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:14.160
Yeah, yeah, that'd be great.
00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:17.680
Um with with the Dublin Fire Brigade pipe band.
00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:22.079
Uh obviously, you're an Irish pipe band.
00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:26.319
Do you play Irish and Scottish music, or are you just playing Irish music?
00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:29.359
What's your repertoire?
00:31:30.640 --> 00:31:33.359
So, yeah, it's it's it's a bit of boat, really.
00:31:33.519 --> 00:31:38.880
What we're actually looking to do is we're looking to kind of, I don't mean we're we're very traditional.
00:31:39.119 --> 00:32:04.160
Like we've been we've been like everything we've been doing up to now, and we're what 40 into we're going ahead into our 41st year now, and everything we've been doing up to now has been very traditional pipe band uh music, uh, department, uh everything has been very traditional, and we've got two excellent instructors, Kieran Mordant on the drums and Dave Rickard on the pipes.
00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:14.160
Uh and these these are very much pipe band royalty in in Ireland and would be known across the world, certainly, Kieran, for for his judging and stuff like that.
00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:29.200
Uh but if you if you if you said to them you wanted to kind of diverge away from from the traditional stuff, they they they wouldn't be happy with it, although you know they're our instructors and we we we pay their fees and whatever, but they wouldn't be happy with it.
00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:37.359
So we've been very traditional in terms of what we play and how we present ourselves, and it's been great uh for all these years.
00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:58.319
Uh uh and we never really went away, we never kind of even party pieces and and and upbeat kind of uh you know changing the rhythm a little bit, we've never really done that, and we've been always very strict in and even how we we would dress, we would never you'd never see us wearing a kilt and a pair of flip-flops, for example.
00:32:58.480 --> 00:32:59.599
You'd never see that.
00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:21.119
Um but but we spoke recently there about maybe changing things up a little bit just to make it just that little bit more entertaining because times are changing and maybe to attract more people in and and having a few more party tunes and uh that's in in negotiations at the moment, but there's a lot of uh there's a lot of support for that there now.
00:33:21.359 --> 00:33:32.960
But it's so but up to now it was is was your I won't say typical traditional pipe band, whether it be Irish or Scottish tunes,
but it's been very much like that.
00:33:33.119 --> 00:33:40.640
Uh you know, your your dawnings of the dawning of the day, your you know the 20 minutes in Dublin Town, all those type of tunes, you know.
00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:43.839
Uh which we've been playing for a long, long time.
00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:50.319
Um uh and you know, maybe a little change is is is is needed in this stage, you know.
00:33:50.559 --> 00:34:18.480
You know, it's a great conversation because I think a lot of bands are having that same conversation, um just to attract the younger generation, you know, to get I mean, look at even in the United States, you have um there are some people that are against it, but you have uh Allie the Piper, she goes around and she's wailing out you know hard rock uh Metallica songs on the bagpipes, and she's selling out shows, but you know why?
00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:20.079
Because people want to listen to that.
00:34:20.320 --> 00:34:27.840
They you know it's something new and they want to learn it, they want to learn how to play um uh Thunderstruck on the bagpipes, yeah.
00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:45.039
Um yeah, I there is definitely a a need for at least the conversation of of changing things up a little bit, maybe not so drastic, but um, yeah, I think there's a there's I I think sorry we're cutting across you.
00:34:45.199 --> 00:34:47.679
I think there there's probably a middle ground there.
00:34:47.760 --> 00:35:01.440
Like we we certainly won't be doing thunder suck, I don't think, but but there are there are certain tunes that we could do that that kind of change it up a little bit and give that more of a party feel and yeah, maybe get more interest from a younger crowd.
00:35:01.599 --> 00:35:18.239
Uh we witnessed it ourselves even last Patrick's Day, uh, when we had you know the greater Boston guys over and the Palm Beach guys over, and uh um you know they they play a little bit of that and it was it was very entertaining, I have to say, very entertaining.
00:35:18.400 --> 00:35:33.599
Uh and while there is that we're very you know, like we always said that we were never we were never gonna be a grade one or grade two band, or you know, we were always we had a certain level that we could we could reach and and we attracted that kind of a player.
00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:40.000
Um so mixing it up a little bit uh is for sure a conversation that has to be had.
00:35:40.239 --> 00:35:40.880
Yeah.
00:35:41.440 --> 00:35:50.239
Now um uniform, you we get the question a lot of times, you know, about our tartan, the FDNY tartan.
00:35:50.639 --> 00:36:00.960
And and the fact that you know, I always heard how an Irish pipe band has a solid kilt where a Scottish band has a a tartan.
00:36:01.119 --> 00:36:08.960
And why is it that the FDNY, who is an Emerald Society Irish pipe band, uh why does it wear a tartan?
00:36:09.039 --> 00:36:15.039
And and I give the example of you know, the reason why we have a tartan is because all of the colors mean something.
00:36:15.360 --> 00:36:30.880
Like the black is represents the firemen that died in the line of duty, the blue represents the firefighters, the white in our kilt represents the officers, and the green represents uh our Irish roots and uh the Emerald Society.
00:36:32.079 --> 00:36:40.559
So I I know that the Dublin pipe ban originally had a solid kilt, so and now you have the tartan.
00:36:40.719 --> 00:36:43.599
What what what are the reasons behind that change?
00:36:44.559 --> 00:36:50.559
So yeah, we we did have the solid uh blue uh tartan, or I'm sorry, blue kilt.
00:36:50.639 --> 00:36:51.599
We had the solid blue.
00:36:51.679 --> 00:36:57.840
Uh it's actually gas, you you you you you you mentioned because we're in conversation at the moment about changing things up a little bit.
00:36:58.079 --> 00:37:02.719
Uh we had the solid blue, which which which was representing Dublin.
00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:04.079
That's what that was doing.
00:37:04.239 --> 00:37:08.719
It was the Dublin blue colour, and that's what we wore as our solid blue kilt.
00:37:09.199 --> 00:37:13.039
And then we changed that, I can't remember the year, we changed that to the tartan.
00:37:13.599 --> 00:37:21.519
And we wanted to keep with the blue the kind of the the kind of uniform of of of the Fur Brigade and the Dublin colour.
00:37:21.760 --> 00:37:25.519
We wanted to keep with that, um, but we wanted a tartan.
00:37:25.840 --> 00:37:32.400
Um and we ended up getting the Edzel tartan, which is actually in a US tartan.
00:37:32.480 --> 00:37:35.519
Uh I think it's US Navy, if I'm not mistaken.
00:37:35.840 --> 00:37:47.840
Um and but the colours in that, like what you said, there's the blue for Dublin City, and there's the red for your red fire brigade uh colours, right?
00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:53.440
Uh and they are the two primary colours that are in the in the kilt, and obviously there's a white going through it as well.
00:37:53.760 --> 00:37:56.719
Um so that's that was the reason for the change.
00:37:56.800 --> 00:37:58.239
You want to go to a tartan.
00:37:58.480 --> 00:38:10.719
Uh now you could some conversation is if you look at the Irish Army colour, which is a kind of an orangey, rusty colour, uh that they use that colour.
00:38:10.880 --> 00:38:15.840
Um we're we're we're actually in discussion at the moment about changing the air look a little bit.
00:38:16.079 --> 00:38:22.480
Uh uh we feel that the uniform is getting a bit old and tattered looking at the moment, and we have a good few years.
00:38:22.719 --> 00:38:28.559
Um so that's up for discussion, but I think we're going to stick with the with the tartan.
00:38:28.880 --> 00:38:30.400
I think that's gonna stay the same.
00:38:30.559 --> 00:38:36.159
And there was an interest in staying going back to the the playing colour, but I think the tartan is there to stay.
00:38:37.440 --> 00:38:38.719
Joe Murphy.
00:38:39.119 --> 00:38:41.840
Yeah, you obviously remember Joe Murphy.
00:38:42.079 --> 00:38:42.880
Yeah, I do, yeah.
00:38:43.119 --> 00:38:46.079
Yeah, John Daly he called me.
00:38:46.320 --> 00:38:57.280
He was in Florida on vacation, and he he just went home with his family, just landed in the airport, and he found out that Joe Murphy passed away.
00:38:57.920 --> 00:38:59.920
Who was our band chairman many years ago?
00:39:01.039 --> 00:39:07.840
Uh matter of fact, Joe was with us on that very first trip I took when we were at the uh Rosa Trilli Festival.
00:39:08.159 --> 00:39:09.280
The Rosa Trilli Pray.
00:39:09.440 --> 00:39:10.639
Joe was on that trip as well.
00:39:11.440 --> 00:39:12.639
But Joe passed away.
00:39:13.760 --> 00:39:17.599
John nearly just he just got off the plane with his family.
00:39:18.079 --> 00:39:23.920
He gets the phone call that that Joe passed away, and he gets right back on a plane and comes back to New York.
00:39:24.320 --> 00:39:24.559
Yeah.
00:39:24.800 --> 00:39:27.679
You know, that's the friendships that we have.
00:39:28.559 --> 00:39:30.159
You know, he got right back on a plane.
00:39:30.320 --> 00:39:31.760
Joe was quite the character.
00:39:33.039 --> 00:39:52.719
He certainly was, and I and and I used to love when when Joe and uh like Paul Shannon used to get together, you know, the the the stories and the banter, you know, and they were kind of you know in around the kind of same age bracket, you know, and uh uh the the they were they were the old they're great for the stories.
00:39:52.960 --> 00:40:04.480
And it when we you know when you're out with the band, people kind of you're people are you know you you attract people, people come to you and look at them, want to talk to you and and ask questions and tell you stories and whatever else.
00:40:04.639 --> 00:40:14.880
And we used to always just direct them over to Paul Shannon or or if Joe was there, you just if you want to know about the FDMI, just you just go over to Joe there, he'll he'll give you all the details, you know.
00:40:15.039 --> 00:40:16.800
Uh but yeah, fantastic.
00:40:16.960 --> 00:40:24.400
But I'm not surprised to hear the the and I knew about the John Daney story about him going uh going back over to the funeral, you know.
00:40:24.559 --> 00:40:30.719
Yeah, there is that huge connection there and uh and uh uh family-like indeed.
00:40:30.880 --> 00:40:58.559
It's a bit like it's a bit like when Bronco, you know Bronco obviously um when obviously Bronco went missing obviously in 9-11 and wasn't uh wasn't recovered till the October and we got word that he'd been recovered, that uh it was without hesitation we said, you know, we're we're we're gone, we're g we're going over to pay our respects and show solidarity with the with the guys and pay our respects to to Bronco and and all of that.
00:40:58.800 --> 00:41:00.960
Uh that that's always been there.
00:41:01.039 --> 00:41:25.440
And and even I I remember I remember meeting Leem uh Fardy when we were there and uh there was a suggestion that you know uh that we would go down to the site to to uh more just to show a bit a bit of s solidarity with the lads, the FDMY guys that were down there, and the NYPD and all the other services that were there.
00:41:25.679 --> 00:41:30.719
And uh so arrangements were made for us to go down to the site, which was which is unbelievable.
00:41:30.880 --> 00:41:32.159
Uh and and I'll never forget it.
00:41:32.320 --> 00:41:46.079
I remember Lima organising um organising uh a couple of minibuses from the FDMY to bring us down, and uh a very kind of a very solemn kind of experience.
00:41:46.400 --> 00:42:02.559
We got down to a certain distance into it, uh, and then we had to transfer from the minibuses into golf buggies because the ground was still kind of soft, it was still deemed to be uh a working site or recovery site.
00:42:02.719 --> 00:42:14.960
Um but but Liam brought us down anyway, and uh we obviously met up with the with the FTMY guys down there, um and it meant so much to us to be there, you know, for the guys that were there.
00:42:15.039 --> 00:42:21.039
And we had we we attended a couple of the funerals uh while we weren't there for long, we were only there for a few days.
00:42:21.280 --> 00:42:50.159
Uh and but in particular uh Bronco and then going about the Broncos burial, and there's a good photograph I'd have done have you seen it's it's still knocking around uh at the when we were lowering the casket of Bronco and uh uh we were standing around and of course the the bottle of red breast whiskey came out uh and we we all poured a glass of small glass of whiskey and obviously poured a drop in on uh on on Bronco and and saluted him.
00:42:50.400 --> 00:43:00.000
And uh someone took a photograph and it was myself and Neem and and John Daly and a couple of other guys from the FDMY uh in that photograph.
00:43:00.079 --> 00:43:09.039
I still have it actually, and uh yeah, so yeah, and that will continue, I think, uh relationship with the FDMY.
00:43:09.440 --> 00:43:14.880
Um and so no surprises that that uh John did what he did when uh calling the John Murphy's thing.
00:43:15.280 --> 00:43:22.719
I also have a picture of uh that final pour of the red breast onto Bronco's casket was by Billy Murphy.
00:43:23.039 --> 00:43:26.159
Yeah, Billy was pouring uh the red breast on the casket.
00:43:27.679 --> 00:43:29.039
Uh great man.
00:43:29.199 --> 00:43:40.079
That guy, you know, he didn't look Irish at all, but I remember one time we were in Johnny Fox's and we were all singing these songs, and uh Bronco was singing.
00:43:40.159 --> 00:43:43.119
Uh he Bronco knew every word to every song, you know.
00:43:44.000 --> 00:43:45.920
And it was actually interesting to see him.
00:43:46.000 --> 00:43:48.079
He was Irish, he was Irish and Italian.
00:43:48.159 --> 00:43:49.599
He looked a little bit more Italian.
00:43:49.679 --> 00:44:00.559
We actually he used to say, Um, I look more Lebanese, like that I don't even know what Lebanese
looks like, but yeah, maybe the face to features, yeah, but he was a big man.
00:44:01.280 --> 00:44:02.880
He was a big man, big man.
00:44:03.119 --> 00:44:09.360
But it was funny to watch him sing all these Irish songs, you know, and um and Joe Murphy too.
00:44:09.519 --> 00:44:17.920
Joe Murphy had quite the uh the voice because everybody'd be singing here, and Joe Murphy's voice would be like an octave higher.
00:44:18.000 --> 00:44:21.199
And I used to tell people, oh yeah, he's just singing in harmony.
00:44:22.000 --> 00:44:28.480
You know, if you listen, we have the bagpipe band C D that we came out before 9-11.
00:44:28.559 --> 00:44:35.599
That CD came out, and the last song on there is us singing the Minster Boy, and you can hear what I'm talking about.
00:44:35.760 --> 00:44:40.960
Joe Murphy's voice is in the background, like in like some kind of his own harmony.
00:44:41.840 --> 00:44:42.960
So funny.
00:44:43.599 --> 00:44:46.480
Oh, I've it's great, great characters, super characters.
00:44:46.719 --> 00:44:47.519
Great crack, yeah.
00:44:47.760 --> 00:44:54.880
That you you mentioned that you uh you worked in that prison before you came on the job, and you had a few stories from that.
00:44:54.960 --> 00:45:02.800
Is there anything at well uh there's obviously the stories from there are not uh you know not kind of stories you'd be sharing really.
00:45:02.880 --> 00:45:07.599
Uh but what but I got involved at that time, which was a great honour, I suppose.
00:45:07.840 --> 00:45:40.079
I got involved with their um their colour guard or their honour guard they had they had at the time, and it was a big deal at the time because uh it was in 2001 they were uh they were re-interning the the the remains of the ten Irish volunteers uh from who were buried who were hung and executed in and buried in in Mount Joy Prison, and they were taking them back up and uh reburying them in Glassnevin Cemetery.
00:45:40.400 --> 00:45:52.960
And uh I got involved in that and ended up being the pal bearer for for the coffin of Kevin Burry, which is you know which is an it was an absolute honour to to do at the time.
00:45:53.119 --> 00:45:55.920
Uh and I have I've I've got photographs of that as well.
00:45:56.239 --> 00:45:58.000
It was a tragic time, obviously.
00:45:58.159 --> 00:46:10.320
Uh, you know, ten ten known as the unknown ten or the forgotten ten that were buried there, amongst others that were hung at the time, uh executed and Kevin Barry in particular, who was only an 18-year-old.
00:46:10.480 --> 00:46:15.679
Uh but to be a pallbearer for that while I was working for the Irish prison service was quite an honour.
00:46:15.920 --> 00:46:22.000
Uh uh and they they ended up getting a full state military funeral um after all those years.
00:46:22.159 --> 00:46:22.480
Yeah.
00:46:22.800 --> 00:46:25.199
What year, what year was that with Kevin Barry?
00:46:26.559 --> 00:46:29.599
That would have been uh the 2001 as well.
00:46:29.840 --> 00:46:30.400
2001.
00:46:30.639 --> 00:46:31.199
Oh, it was.
00:46:31.360 --> 00:46:31.840
Yeah.
00:46:32.079 --> 00:46:35.199
Well, Tom, it was it was great to catch up with you.
00:46:35.599 --> 00:46:36.480
No, no, look at that.
00:46:36.559 --> 00:46:41.599
I just yeah, thanks for having me on and uh yeah, looking forward to continued friendship.
00:46:41.760 --> 00:46:41.920
Yeah.
00:46:42.800 --> 00:46:44.639
That's that's the that's the number one thing here.
00:46:44.719 --> 00:46:46.639
But but great catching up with you, Tom.
00:46:46.800 --> 00:46:49.519
And I will definitely get in touch with you in October.
00:46:49.599 --> 00:46:52.480
I'll send you the information of when I'll be in Dublin.
00:46:52.719 --> 00:46:53.920
Great, and we'll have a point.
00:46:54.320 --> 00:46:55.840
Yeah, sounds great.