Third Carrickfergus Band

06/09/2026

On the scale of band trips, this current weekend in Enniskillen for BRASSFEST, was right up there with the very best! After a few recent internal moves within the band we were incredibly pleased with the performance and result (3rd place) and there were lots of positive comments plus constructive feedback from both adjudicators for us to use and develop. Special mention of course to Sophie for her vocal solo and special award, we wish her well as she heads off to the Royal Conservatoire Glasgow to study Singing. The band can certainly look forward to our National Championships in October with renewed confidence and excitement for what we can achieve. Thanks to Andy McQuiggan, Billy Gilmore and Kevin Teers our guests for the day!

Straight after the performance we managed to get a long overdue band photo opportunity before heading round to Franco’s for a super Italian lunch. During the meal we celebrated the incredible stability and longevity of the Third Carrick family with service awards for members with 30+, 40+ and 50+ years connected with the band. This amounts to an unbelievable 540 plus years of service from just 13 people! Congratulations to Tim, Will, Claire (30+), Ruth, Hoppy, Colin, Pete, Roy (40+) Hazel, JG, Morris, Allan (50+) and finally Desy (Lifetime Achievement Award). We also took the opportunity to thank Vicky for her help and support throughout the year as our glamorous resident compere, present Sophie with the Peter Arthurs Bursary towards her college expenses and congratulate our newlyweds Roy and Denise for inviting the band to their honeymoon! The icing on the cake (quite literally) was we also marked Robert Frost’s 80th birthday with another stunning creation from Steph at Ohhcrumz.

A quick change and then back to support our younger members doing us proud with the NYBBNI. Keep up the great work Sophie, Erika, Christy and Martha and of course Jacklin as one of their tutors.

We then spent a lovely night celebrating in Enniskillen before getting together for a scrumptious buffet breakfast this morning at The Enniskillen Hotel.

Incredibly proud of our history to date and what lies ahead with so many exciting developments to look forward to. Dare to Dream! Thanks to Keith Anderson for his incredible work ethic and assured inspirational direction in his first year conducting the band, the future looks bright.

Well done to all who competed yesterday and congratulations to all the prize winners throughout the various sections. Special mention to Stephen Crooks and his team for putting on such a wonderful contest, a great addition to the banding calendar! Next stop The Marketplace Theatre Armagh for the NIBA Championships before we can relax a bit and get out and about with our adoring public over the busy Christmas schedule. Check out the pics below. 💙🎶💙

29/08/2026

You never know what to expect when you launch a new project and we were somewhat apprehensive on how our new Youth Band play a long would go down with the kids, but we needn’t have worried. What a fun and hugely successful morning we had in Carrickfergus Community Church Hall (thanks Lynne) with an ensemble from the band and a really great turn out of young people keen to play in a band! All the kids were fantastic and really embraced the fun music with ABBA, Disney and African Funk on the playlist.

So looking forward to how they develop over the coming months and what a great starting point for such an important journey! The journey continues every Tuesday evening (starting 7th September) at Jordan Victory Church, Woodburn from 6.30 to 7.30pm. We already have a great cohort of young people but hope they will tell all their friends so they can join them and grow together musically. Trust me there is no better way to make friends for life and have fun whilst pursuing an education in music. Thanks especially to Jacklin and Ruth for all their effort thus far and obviously to the parents for loaning us your prized possessions! Please contact the band if you have any questions or want to get involved. 💙🎶💙

27/08/2026

Folks still time to sign up, or even come along on the day, for our play a long session, we’ll not turn anyone away!!!! We already have a good group of young people interested but certainly have capacity for more. You can never have enough friends!!!!!

Please fill out the Expression of Interest form below as even if you can’t make it Saturday we will know you are interested going forward on a Tuesday evening from 6.30 to 7.30pm at Jordan Victory Church, Woodburn Rd.

Some great music to look forward to on Saturday and beyond and the chance to be involved in something really big right from the start. Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity and get started on your life long journey with music, education and fun! 💙🎶💙

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScogYF8NHNVNDoQ_cU4WsBgL8OmJimqD0IcNsGYeET54NmU6w/viewform?usp=header

24/08/2026

Way to go Maisie! Really proud of what you have achieved so far and looking forward to the rest of your musical career. 💙🎶💙

🎺 Brass Success! 🎺

Our very own Maisie spent a fantastic week in Armagh over the summer, taking part in a Brass Band Summer School! 🎶

Maisie had the amazing opportunity to receive expert tuition from two of the world’s leading cornet players, Mark Wilkinson and Richard Poole, as well as playing under the baton of Mike Fowles, conductor of the world-famous Foden’s Band. What an experience! 🌟

Here she is pictured with her tutors, as well as fellow members of Third Carrickfergus Band, including her school brass tutor. We’re so proud to see Maisie developing her musical talents and making the most of such a brilliant opportunity! 👏🎺

And for any budding brass players… Third Carrick Silver Band is launching an exciting new youth initiative this Saturday 29th August, from 10–11am. All brass players are welcome to come along and get involved! 🎵

20/08/2026

So proud of our young players Sophie Hueston, Erika Glover and Christy Brennan on their A level and GCSE grades this year. Sophie has been accepted to study Singing at one of the UK’s elite music colleges, the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow, while Erika/Christy will be going on to take A levels at their respective schools. Only a small sample but perfectly illustrates the benefit of playing a musical instrument and being part of a band on academic achievement. 💙🎶💙

18/08/2026

Folks, don't miss out on this brilliant and unique opportunity for your child to come along and play with the Third Carrickfergus Band and in turn be part of the relaunch of our new Youth Band, starting in September this year.

Don't worry if you can't make this date as you can still get involved when the regular Tuesday evening sessions start (approx 6:30-7:30), so please fill out the Expression of Interest form regardless and we will follow up with more details after the Play a Long session.

This is genuinely a great chance to meet up and make friends for life whilst making music and having fun together. The research also shows the substantial benefits to be attained on academic achievement to those who can read music and play a musical instrument! We have some of the best teachers/tutors in the country at your disposal so make use of their considerable experience in child development and music tuition!

Follow the link below directly or use the QR code to register your interest.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScogYF8NHNVNDoQ_cU4WsBgL8OmJimqD0IcNsGYeET54NmU6w/viewform?usp=header

15/08/2026

What a wonderful week of fun, friendship and learning at the annual Armagh Summer School culminating in a fantastic concert this afternoon at 1st Presbyterian Church on The Mall. Great turnout as always from the Third Carrick family all week and particularly encouraging to have some of our youngest players enjoying the experience. A total of 13 of our players gave up their time to support this incredible event that has now been running for over 20 years! Thanks to Mike Fowles and his team of amazing tutors from the world renowned Fodens Band for their inspirational guidance and of course this wouldn’t be possible without the super human efforts of Ivor, Heather and Julie Ann Stevenson. Keep up the great work folks.

P.S. Third Carrick merchandise available from our marketing guru Carol Ann Glover. 💙🎶💙

09/08/2026

Just reflecting on what has been a wonderful Around the Town Festival this week, dare I say the best yet? Of course Tuesday night was a major highlight for the band and one of the most important nights in our calendar, let’s hope this wonderful collaboration continues for many years to come and we keep pushing the boundaries creatively with exciting, bold and above all else entertaining programming. Thanks especially to our MD Keith Anderson for preparing us so well and of course to our excellent compere Vicky Watson. Also thanks to our guests for the evening Ian Wildon, Joe Stewart both from Downshire and the ever present Andy McQuiggan from Laganvale.

You can see real growth and progression in the festival in both the audience reach and quality of performance and there were some real stand out performances for us with the Chris Taplin Blues Band and Anna’s Number worth special mention.

Of course none of this could happen without the incredible efforts of Bill, Lynne and Ash who work tirelessly throughout the year to put this together and make it all run seamlessly throughout the week. We certainly really appreciate your efforts and are already looking forward to what next year’s festival might bring. 💙🎶💙

19/04/2026

Not quite the result we had hoped for yesterday but another thoroughly absorbing days contesting at The Strule Arts Centre, Omagh in the annual BBNI Spring Festival Contest. It was the first test piece contest with the new partnership of band and MD, Keith Anderson, and we managed to deliver a fine musical performance of St James A New Beginning that earned us a creditable 4th place in the Championship Section. Have to really pay credit to all our soloists who delivered on stage with playing of genuine quality. Feel free to check out the recording below.

Special mention to our guests players Billy Gilmore and Andy McQuiggan and a particularly big shout out to Andrew Milligan of 1st Old Boys who stood in at very short notice for our E flat bass player Niamh Burgess who was unable to attend the contest due to a family bereavement.

Thanks once again to the BBNI for hosting another successful event and congratulations to all the competing bands. Well done to Laganvale, CWA Brass and St. Marks for winning their respective sections.

Now for something completely different for a few months with a busy schedule of concerts to look forward to. 💙🎶💙

https://youtu.be/TiE9VtOsFqE?si=SkNYLxxvSNNdJNr7