A Bandsman’s Service of Thanksgiving on Sunday evening brought an end to a weekend of celebration for The Third Carrickfergus Silver Band in this, their 50th year.

The celebrations began on Friday evening with the band giving A Golden Jubilee Concert in front of a sell out crowd of 400 in The War Memorial Hall. The concert included, not only, a world premier of a new piece composed by our own Daniel Barkley, titled Preludio Piccolo, but also the first performance in public of the march “On The Castle Green” which the band commissioned from Paul Lovatt-Cooper for the anniversary. The compere for the evening was Mr William Hill, who superbly entertained and steered the audience through the programme.

Saturday evening brought A Golden Jubilee Gala Dinner in The Clarion Hotel with over 200 in attendance this time with Mr Alan Beattie acting as MC who ensured the evening progressed without a hitch. As well as having the chance to catch up with old friends, a pictorial history of the band playing on the big screen while the meal was being served provided great entertainment. The rest of the night was danced away to the sounds of Nightswing.

The band now turn their attention to the NIBA Championships which take place on November 1st where they aim to finish their 50th year on a high note.

Over the next days and weeks this website will feature many pictures and stories related to this monumental weekend of celebrations.

On the evening of the Gala Dinner in the Clarion Hotel we were delighted to have the services of Mr James Baker who took wonderful photographs of guests as they arrived and also round the tables during the evening. We hope you will support the excellent work by James and purchase your memento of the event. Click here to visit his website where you can find details of how to contact him.

Further pictures will appear on this website over the coming days as we collect them. These galleries are now available on the “Media” page of this site.

Once again, on behalf of all at Third Carrickfergus Band, may we thank you for making the weekend of events so memorable and something that will be talked about for many years to come. If you wish to make a comment about the weekend please use our message board via the link on the home page of this site.