Box and Fiddle
Year 15 No 07
March 1992
Introducing the Clubs
No 7 Premier (Northern Ireland)
by T Beckett
In early 1980, a certain Gerry Kealey (himself a very proficient accordionist, who in his time played for the Queen), visited Scotland and attended some Accordion & Fiddle Club meetings. Such was his enthusiasm for these meetings that he contacted his friend John Rooney to look into the possibility of forming an Accordion and fiddle club in Northern Ireland – the seed was sown.
In April 1980, John and Gerry, along with some fellow musicians from Counties Antrim and down, met in the Countryman Hotel in Glenavy, just outside Belfast. Some 28 people attended what was to be the first meeting of the new Club and by the end of the evening a Committee had been elected and a provisional set of rules drafted.
John Rooney became the Club’s first Chairman, with Jim Jackson becoming Secretary and Patsy Beckett, Treasurer; Jim McAllister, Leslie Craig, Alex Crawford and Paddy Kelly made up the rest of the Committee. Gerry Kealey was nominated as the Club’s first Master of Ceremonies.
The only two things that didn’t happen on the first night were, no music was played and no decision was taken then on the name of the Club. The name was chosen at a Committee meeting three weeks later, though who thought of it is unrecorded in the Minutes. Anyway, in April 1980, the Premier Accordion and Fiddle Club of Northern Ireland was formed.
The whole essence of the Club then, as is now, was based very much on involvement – the members were all expected to get stuck in and keep the entertainment going.
When the Club opened its doors in September, 1980, for its first full season, its venue had changed to Wilson’s Cabaret Lounge in Crumlin. It is recorded in the Minutes that the venue would do “at least for the time being”. Twelve years on, the name of the venue has changed to the Camlin function Rooms, but the Club still meets there “at least for the time being”.
The Club and the venue have actually grown together over the years, as much reconstructing of the bar has taken place as the Club has matured, in fact, many members can remember Club nights held amongst the bricks and mortar of refurbishment.
The success of the Club’s first fifteen months was backed up in the A.G.M. in May, 1981, when the entire Committee were re-elected en masse, in fact, in the 12 years of existence only John Rooney, Eddie Burgess and Sammy Beggs have been Chairman, only Jim Jackson, Cecil Colville, Margaret Tate and Thomas Beckett have been Secretary and Patsy Beckett has been the Club’s one and only Treasurer.
By the same token, the Club has only ever called on the services of 8 individuals to be in the Committee, namely Jim McAllister, Leslie Craig, Alex Crawford, Paddy Kelly, Nessie Jackson, Bertie Gregg, Jim Gordon and Ken Hopkins and for a great many of the years, Jim McAllister has been responsible for organizing all our guest artistes.
The first ‘high’ that the Club experienced came in January, 1982, when arguably the Club’s proudest moment came, with Paddy Neary becoming the Club’s first Guest Artiste. This, more than anything, rewarded the whole club for its efforts in making the Club a success.
The Club experienced many ‘highs’ over these past 12 years – our first guest, our 10th Anniversary etc., but sadness has also been a part of the Club’s history and some of our founders and members are sadly no longer with us. All are greatly missed by the Club. As a monument to them, the Club looks forward to the next 12 years and hopes that our standard of achievement, and our hospitality, continue to grow.
No 7 Premier (Northern Ireland)
by T Beckett
In early 1980, a certain Gerry Kealey (himself a very proficient accordionist, who in his time played for the Queen), visited Scotland and attended some Accordion & Fiddle Club meetings. Such was his enthusiasm for these meetings that he contacted his friend John Rooney to look into the possibility of forming an Accordion and fiddle club in Northern Ireland – the seed was sown.
In April 1980, John and Gerry, along with some fellow musicians from Counties Antrim and down, met in the Countryman Hotel in Glenavy, just outside Belfast. Some 28 people attended what was to be the first meeting of the new Club and by the end of the evening a Committee had been elected and a provisional set of rules drafted.
John Rooney became the Club’s first Chairman, with Jim Jackson becoming Secretary and Patsy Beckett, Treasurer; Jim McAllister, Leslie Craig, Alex Crawford and Paddy Kelly made up the rest of the Committee. Gerry Kealey was nominated as the Club’s first Master of Ceremonies.
The only two things that didn’t happen on the first night were, no music was played and no decision was taken then on the name of the Club. The name was chosen at a Committee meeting three weeks later, though who thought of it is unrecorded in the Minutes. Anyway, in April 1980, the Premier Accordion and Fiddle Club of Northern Ireland was formed.
The whole essence of the Club then, as is now, was based very much on involvement – the members were all expected to get stuck in and keep the entertainment going.
When the Club opened its doors in September, 1980, for its first full season, its venue had changed to Wilson’s Cabaret Lounge in Crumlin. It is recorded in the Minutes that the venue would do “at least for the time being”. Twelve years on, the name of the venue has changed to the Camlin function Rooms, but the Club still meets there “at least for the time being”.
The Club and the venue have actually grown together over the years, as much reconstructing of the bar has taken place as the Club has matured, in fact, many members can remember Club nights held amongst the bricks and mortar of refurbishment.
The success of the Club’s first fifteen months was backed up in the A.G.M. in May, 1981, when the entire Committee were re-elected en masse, in fact, in the 12 years of existence only John Rooney, Eddie Burgess and Sammy Beggs have been Chairman, only Jim Jackson, Cecil Colville, Margaret Tate and Thomas Beckett have been Secretary and Patsy Beckett has been the Club’s one and only Treasurer.
By the same token, the Club has only ever called on the services of 8 individuals to be in the Committee, namely Jim McAllister, Leslie Craig, Alex Crawford, Paddy Kelly, Nessie Jackson, Bertie Gregg, Jim Gordon and Ken Hopkins and for a great many of the years, Jim McAllister has been responsible for organizing all our guest artistes.
The first ‘high’ that the Club experienced came in January, 1982, when arguably the Club’s proudest moment came, with Paddy Neary becoming the Club’s first Guest Artiste. This, more than anything, rewarded the whole club for its efforts in making the Club a success.
The Club experienced many ‘highs’ over these past 12 years – our first guest, our 10th Anniversary etc., but sadness has also been a part of the Club’s history and some of our founders and members are sadly no longer with us. All are greatly missed by the Club. As a monument to them, the Club looks forward to the next 12 years and hopes that our standard of achievement, and our hospitality, continue to grow.