Marching through the barricade : the geopolitics of musical performance in rural Ulster

• Main Author: Culbertson, Diana Frances
• Published: Queen's University Belfast 2014
• Subjects: 874.8
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.676280

At present there are approximately 650 (Witherow 2010) marching bands operating throughout Northern Ireland, the greater majority of which are Protestant. Up until the 1970s most bands were linked to a local branch of the Orange Order, a Protestant fraternity established in Ireland in 1795. The bands provided music for the Orange parades which remained within the confines of their own neighbourhoods. These activities demarcated clear territorial boundaries, and from time to time caused a degree of animosity, particularly with neighbouring Catholics. Developments in Protestant parading culture, in particular the establishment of the 'band parade' during the 1970s, combined with major demographic shifts across Ulster over the past 20 years, have resulted in an increasing number of Protestant parade trajectories being fiercely contested. This thesis looks at the interrelationship between music, territory, demography and politics in Northern Ireland. By examining the strategies of three different bands from within the borough of Ballymoney, I will demonstrate how a band's background and geographical positioning can have a profound effect on how the ensemble is governed, repertoire choices, their individual agendas and the ongoing issues they face during the course of the year