147 years ago this week, in May 1879 the violent "Battle of the Bands" between the Fair Lane Fife & Drum and the Blackpool Bands took place in Cork City Ireland.
Long-standing rivalries between bands in Cork City Ireland in 1879 almost certainly prefigured the "band nuisance" but it was not until the beginning of May 1879 that the first violent clashes occurred. It is significant that the Cork band riots took place during a period of exceptional political tension and a national weakening of law and order probably encouraged the participants. However, the immediate genesis of the disturbances had absolutely no political connotations.
In late April the Fair Lane and Quarry Lane bands played at a wedding in the city. Afterwards, money was given to members of the Quarry Lane band to divide between both bands but they opted to retain the entire amount for themselves. The consequent bad feeling exploded on 1 May (Thursday night) as the bands returned from their usual promenades. An accidental encounter in O'Connell St led to a serious skirmish when a supporter of the Quarry Lane band hurled a stone at the Fair Lane contingent. O'Connell St was in the Blackpool area and the presence of the Fair Lane band may have been perceived as a provocative incursion into the 'territory' of the Quarry Lane faction.
A young man named Daniel Creed, with four or five others, seized the Fair Lane big drum, jumped into it, and knocked it down a nearby laneway. Hand-to-hand fighting and stone-throwing ensued although both sides were soon separated by the police. Creed, who had initiated the disturbance, was a notorious street-brawler with ten previous convictions and a history of heavy drinking. The police described him as "the worst character in Cork" during a court case three weeks later when he was sent to jail for two months on a charge of riot unconnected to the band disturbances. He was a follower of the Quarry Lane band but it is likely that Creed's propensity for violence was an important factor in this initial skirmish.
Tensions grew rapidly between the bandsmen and their followers over the next two days. The big drum was considered almost a totem by the fife and drum bands and the destruction of the Fair Lane drum was taken very badly. On Saturday, 3 May 1879, 142 years ago today, a mob of several hundred people from the Fair Lane and Shandon St areas gathered at St Mary's Road on the edge of the Blackpool district. A volley of bricks and stones was thrown at houses in Blackpool and some of the crowd rushed into Clarence St smashing windows and street lamps and puncturing holes in the roofs of several houses. "Hundreds of panes of glass were destroyed," claimed the Cork Constitution, "and scarcely a street-lamp was left unbroken." The police arrived and scattered the attackers before the Blackpool faction could muster its forces for a retaliatory assault. Seventeen people were later treated in the nearby North Infirmary for head wounds.
The acrimony between the bands had developed communal overtones and this was vividly emphasised on the following day when the disturbances escalated. Sunday was typically the focal point in every band's week and, as a non-work day, it was the time of greatest mobilisation. The Fair Lane band returned from its Sunday outing at 5.30pm and instead of going home through Cattle Lane it proceeded up Shandon St in the direction of Blackpool playing a tune titled "Slap-bang-here-we-go again" and followed by a large stick-wielding mob. A policeman who was on duty in Coppinger's Lane saw members of the crowd waving sticks in the air as the procession moved up the hill. However, when it reached the top of Shandon St it was barred from entering Blackpool by a group of fourteen sentinels carrying heavy sticks.
The Blackpool faction had evidently prepared for this resumption of hostilities and a large crowd quickly mobilised on its side of the interface. Within minutes the confrontation erupted into a full-scale riot involving more than 2,000 men and women.
Long-standing rivalries between bands in Cork City Ireland in 1879 almost certainly prefigured the "band nuisance" but it was not until the beginning of May 1879 that the first violent clashes occurred. It is significant that the Cork band riots took place during a period of exceptional political tension and a national weakening of law and order probably encouraged the participants. However, the immediate genesis of the disturbances had absolutely no political connotations.
In late April the Fair Lane and Quarry Lane bands played at a wedding in the city. Afterwards, money was given to members of the Quarry Lane band to divide between both bands but they opted to retain the entire amount for themselves. The consequent bad feeling exploded on 1 May (Thursday night) as the bands returned from their usual promenades. An accidental encounter in O'Connell St led to a serious skirmish when a supporter of the Quarry Lane band hurled a stone at the Fair Lane contingent. O'Connell St was in the Blackpool area and the presence of the Fair Lane band may have been perceived as a provocative incursion into the 'territory' of the Quarry Lane faction.
A young man named Daniel Creed, with four or five others, seized the Fair Lane big drum, jumped into it, and knocked it down a nearby laneway. Hand-to-hand fighting and stone-throwing ensued although both sides were soon separated by the police. Creed, who had initiated the disturbance, was a notorious street-brawler with ten previous convictions and a history of heavy drinking. The police described him as "the worst character in Cork" during a court case three weeks later when he was sent to jail for two months on a charge of riot unconnected to the band disturbances. He was a follower of the Quarry Lane band but it is likely that Creed's propensity for violence was an important factor in this initial skirmish.
Tensions grew rapidly between the bandsmen and their followers over the next two days. The big drum was considered almost a totem by the fife and drum bands and the destruction of the Fair Lane drum was taken very badly. On Saturday, 3 May 1879, 142 years ago today, a mob of several hundred people from the Fair Lane and Shandon St areas gathered at St Mary's Road on the edge of the Blackpool district. A volley of bricks and stones was thrown at houses in Blackpool and some of the crowd rushed into Clarence St smashing windows and street lamps and puncturing holes in the roofs of several houses. "Hundreds of panes of glass were destroyed," claimed the Cork Constitution, "and scarcely a street-lamp was left unbroken." The police arrived and scattered the attackers before the Blackpool faction could muster its forces for a retaliatory assault. Seventeen people were later treated in the nearby North Infirmary for head wounds.
The acrimony between the bands had developed communal overtones and this was vividly emphasised on the following day when the disturbances escalated. Sunday was typically the focal point in every band's week and, as a non-work day, it was the time of greatest mobilisation. The Fair Lane band returned from its Sunday outing at 5.30pm and instead of going home through Cattle Lane it proceeded up Shandon St in the direction of Blackpool playing a tune titled "Slap-bang-here-we-go again" and followed by a large stick-wielding mob. A policeman who was on duty in Coppinger's Lane saw members of the crowd waving sticks in the air as the procession moved up the hill. However, when it reached the top of Shandon St it was barred from entering Blackpool by a group of fourteen sentinels carrying heavy sticks.
The Blackpool faction had evidently prepared for this resumption of hostilities and a large crowd quickly mobilised on its side of the interface. Within minutes the confrontation erupted into a full-scale riot involving more than 2,000 men and women.
bill holohan I think