Here’s a great story from the Feis.
In 1984 Declan McCarthy won “The Billy McCarthy Perpetual Cup” for Brass Under 17 Years. In 1985 Declan won “The Frank Lacey Memorial Perpetual Shield” for Senior Brass.
Fast forward to 2020. Declan’s daughter Sinéad McCarthy won “The Billy McCarthy Memorial Perpetual Shield” for Brass 16 Years and Under and in 2022 Sinéad won “The Frank Lacey Memorial Perpetual Shield for Senior Brass.
Declan and Sinéad both played Elegie for French Horn by Poulenc in the senior class, though Sinéad did not know at the time that Declan had also played this piece in his Senior Brass class at the Feis.
This is a lovely story about the continuity of the Feis and a reminder that we are only custodians; we must keep it, preserve it and pass it on for the next generation. Trophies are important because they are history and tell the story of the Feis.
Declan is a member of the RTE Concert Orchestra.
Thank you to Declan and Sinéad for sharing this story with us and for the lovely time we had at the Father Mathew Hall reacquainting them with both trophies.