Dr Derek Mulcahy is no stranger to the marching music of the Fife and Drum being the current bandmaster of St. Mary's Band Fife and Drum Band. But the accomplished musician has now taken up the pen and written the life and history of probably the most famous band of the early 20th century, McNamara’s Band, made famous in the song by Bing Crosby.
The book tells the story of Limerick man Patrick J. McNamara, who emigrated from Limerick to New York in the early 1900s and formed the original McNamara’s Band along with his brothers Michael, John and Thomas. The book, published by Limerick Writers' Centre, will be launched by Irish recordings archivist and collector Alan Morrisroe and takes place in St. Mary’s Cathedral Limerick at 3pm Saturday 4th December. All are welcome to attend, social distance rules will apply.
A graduate of Mary Immaculate College, Derek completed his PhD thesis in 2017 on the Evolution of Limericks fife and drum tradition from the 1830s to the 1930s. He is also an accomplished flute, fife and whistle player, he has recorded and toured with a variety of groups in Europe and the USA, and teaches the flute and whistle locally since the 1990’s.
“Writing and compiling this book has been a labour of love for me” said Derek. “It took the best part of three years of work to gather all the information together to present a complete picture and depict the importance of the McNamara’s, and especially Patrick J. McNamara, to the musical life of Limerick and subsequently New York."
Speaking about the book Dominic Taylor, Director of the Limerick Writers’ Centre and publishers of the book said he was delighted to be part of the publication. “When Derek approached me with the project I knew that it was something the LWC should be involved with”. Dominic added: “It is the remit of the Centre is to promote Limerick writers and Limerick culture and what could be more significant than the musical life of Limerick, a city that has always produced great musical artists from Catherine Hayes to the Cranberries. Derek’s book brings to light a time and place that needs to be remembered and celebrated and which had an impact far beyond these shores”.
A unique aspect of the publication is the inclusion of two CDs with 44 recordings of Patrick J. McNamara and his various bands, recorded in New York. The early 20th century saw great advances in the recording of music and was an important aspect of the success of bands like McNamara’s band. Thanks to the expertise of Alan Morrisroe a collector and archivist of old Irish 78 rpm records the tracks have been compiled and remastered to their original speeds which enhances the tunes played and brings together for the first time how they would have sounded when first recorded.
McNamara’s band is indeed a ‘credit to old Ireland’ and Limerick!
The Leader of the Band is available directly from the author, in St. Mary’s Band Hall any Sunday from 12pm to 1pm, online and various bookshops throughout the city from 27 November 2021.
