Band on the run

mayo | arts and media | press release Sunday April 09, 2006 03:05 by Cllr Keith Martin - Labour Member Westport Town Council

Westport Town Band are in dire need of a permanent home

Westport Councillor will introduce motion to house band if no suitable venue is forthcoming to prevent the disbandment of the Town's band.

Brass Band on the run!

Westport Town Councillor Keith Martin is calling for Westport Town Band to be accommodated by Westport Town Council unless a suitable venue can be found elsewhere. Cllr Martin says he does want to see Westport Town Band die out for the want of venue to rehearse in, so in the absence of any suitable venues being found in the meantime he says he will introduce a Motion at the Council’s next meeting on Thursday night calling on the council to accommodate the band possibly in Westport Leisure Park on James St, which is 100% owned and run by Westport Town Council.

The Band has been liked to “The Band on the Run” as it has been in and out of the Town Hall on two separate occasions and after moves to venues like the Lecture Hall and the Order of Malta Hall, it finds itself still without a home. .

Cllr Keith Martin says that “At a recent recruitment drive there were 20 young children interested and the band has never been short of members or money or instruments, what is killing it is the lack of a home venue. Over the last year or so, I have held several meetings with Mr Peter Hynes, Town Manager to discuss a permanent home for the Town Band. I have also met with Mr Larry Hingerton on several occasions to discuss the problem.

In the past I contacted the Custom House Studios and other similar venues in search of a home for the band on behalf of the band but unfortunately these approaches came to nothing as the premises I approached proved unavailable or unsuitable. It is unfortunate that over the last decade or more that our town band has been forced to move from pillar to post in search of somewhere suitable but hopefully those days are coming to an end.”

If any club, association or group has a hall, with space for the band to rehearse in and has space for a filing cabinet and a locker can they please contact either Larry Hingerton or myself. All the band are looking for is a hall where they can rehearse one night a week and store their instruments and files. If there is no suitable venue in the private sector, if the band can’t be accommodated in the Town Hall, or in another organisation’s hall then it is up to the council to step in. We can’t let a band which dates back to the 1880s die out for the want of a home.”