De La Salle Scout Group News Page

At the IPBA Leinster Solo Piping and Drumming competition held in Palmerstown in Dublin on Saturday November 5^th 2011 ten young De La Salle Scout pipers and drummers did exceptionally well when they competed against some very tough opposition from players from all over Dublin City and County, Cork, Limerick and Wexford. James Stone took 1^st place in the under 14 and 1^st place in under 16 piping and also got 3^rd place in the Junior piping where he was competing mainly against adults. This was a brilliant achievement by James who is the third member of the Stone family to win major awards in Solo piping competitions. Kevin Hennessy who also plays with the New Ross pipe band won 1^st place in Novice drumming. This was also a great achievement for Kevin who is a keen drummer and who recently did exceptionally well at the World Drumming Solos in Glasgow coming in the top twenty. Ciara Duffy who is very new to competing in Solo competitions as this is her first year got 1^st place in the Drum pad and won 1^st place in Introductory Tenor Drumming. This was an excellent achievement by Ciara and we look forward to seeing her improve further in the years ahead and win many more competitions. Megan O Connor who took 2^nd place in Introductory Tenor Drumming and Ciara Murray who was placed 3^rd in the Introductory Tenor Drumming are also new to solo drumming competitions, though Ciara Murray is already a champion Drum Major having won several events in recent years. Eimear Costello competed in the under 14 piping where she was placed 3^rd and Shona Murray was placed 3^rd in the Novice piping. These were excellent results for both these players also and particularly for Shona who was competing in a grade higher than where she normally competes. A big congratulations and well done who all the DLS pipers and drummers who competed on the day and a big thank you to their families and to those who tutored them to. The future of piping and drumming in De La Salle is definitely in good hands.

De La Salle Scout Pipe Band toasts a very successful 2011 summer season (23/10/11)

In the early part of the summer the band did extremely well in the Munster Pipe Band Championships which was held in Tralee in late June where they won the Munster MAPS pipe band competition and the drum corps were crowned Munster Champions having taken first place in their grade for the third year running. In September while in Pitlochry in the heart of Scotland competing against the best of Scottish pipe bands the Drum Corps again took first place in the Grade 4 competition. This was a super achievement for this talented group of players.

The band had two very successful performances at Waterford's Tall Ships Festival and also took part in the Waterford Massed Bands performance at that event. The band did had a weekly performance on the Plaza on the Quay and each Monday night during June, July and August it entertained both the people of Waterford and visitors to the City. The band also performed on a number of occasions at Waterford City Council’s Saturday entertainment initiative.

The band had two very successful trips abroad. Firstly it spent five days performing at a Festival in Concarneau in Brittany France and then it participated in the Pitlochry Highland Games in Scotland. As well as competing at the Pitlochry Highland games the band put on a concert in the Great Hall at the famous Blair Castle. This was a great honour as only very few pipe bands have been given such a privilege. The large crowed enjoyed this performance and were in awe of the playing skills of the young De La Salle players.

Four members of the band had the privilege of attending the World Scout Jamboree in Sweden where they performed on a number of occasions. On one of these occasions they had the honour of entertaining the King of Sweden. The band would like to acknowledge the support it gets from the people of Waterford and is particularly grateful to Waterford City Council and Waterford Youth Committee for the financial support they provide. The band is always open for new members, young and old who have an interest in Highland piping and drumming.

Well done to the members of the 7th Beavers (Monday Night) who braved the rain to attend the "National Trails Day" hike in Portlaw woods on Sunday 2nd October. Along the way they learned how to identify signs of wild animals as well as all the Irish flora!

Well done and congratulations to Paddy Kelly from all at the De La Salle Scout Group on achieving the presidential Gold Gaisce award. Paddy received the prestigious award from President Mary McAleese on September 29th last following his achievements in a number of areas including his work in scouting as a leader in Donnybrook and Waterford as well as his representation of Scouting Ireland internationally. Paddy has also been a long term member of the Order of Malta and helped to establish their mobile health clinic as well as a clinic for homeless people in Dublin. Paddy who is a doctor and is currently working at Waterford Regional Hospital also completed a 90km hike in new Mexico at Philmont and finally learnt the martial art Shaolin in order to complete the award. Check out the Daily Mail coverage of the award ceremony here.

Congratulations to the 3rd and 7th De La Salle Scout Troops who along with the 17th St.Pauls and 31st Faithlegg achieved Gold Standards at the Phoenix Challenge 2011. The event took place from Wednesday 17th to Sunday 21st August last. Overall St.Pauls had another brilliant win while the 3rd finished sixth, the 7th (pictured above) were eighth and Faithlegg were 11th out of the 53 teams. Amazingly it's the 16th national competition win for St.Pauls who this year also picked up the Campcraft, Special Projects/Log and Cooking trophies. The 3rd DLS (pictured below with the team from St. Pauls) also picked up the Richard Murphy Health & Safety Award. Well done to all in what was an excellent event and a superb result for the Waterford Scout County. Its been a hectic few weeks and every one of the Waterford scouts and leaders have earned a well deserved rest!

While the Waterford hurlers still have to do battle to be Munster’s 2011 Champions the De La Salle Scouts got there this weekend as they were crowned Munster Champions in a pipe band competition held in Tralee on Sunday June 19^th. As the members of the band and their supporters left Waterford in the early hours of Sunday morning they were full of anticipation and hoped that they would bring glory once again to there native City. As a precaution, due to the predicted bad whether the competition was moved indoors but thankfully the weather remained good throughout the day and the bands were able to prepare outside where pipes and drums are heard at their best. As the band tuned and got ready for the various competitions throughout the day small crowds of people gathered informally to listen and given that the majority of the members of the band are so young they commented very favorably on their musical ability. Members of the band competed in three band competitions and the band’s young Drum Major also took to the parade ground to show off her skills.

Shortly after one thirty the band was called to play in its own grade for its first performance of the day and while everyone was nervous this just added an edge to their playing and once the order to play was given the pipes and drums struck up with tremendous volume and the band put on a splendid performance. When the results were announced at the end of the day the Drummers were placed first and crowned Munster Champions for 2011. This was a fantastic result and a three in a row for the drum corps. The band was placed second overall in this Grade. The band then played up a grade which was a great challenge as they were now competing with much more senior bands all of which were mainly adults. Again the band put on an excellent performance and was very pleased when the results were announced that the drummers had been placed third with the band coming fourth.

Next to compete was Ciara Murray, the band’s very young Drum Major and having had her uniform inspected she had to perform in front of the judges. She put on a spectacular show and there was great applause when it was announced that she had taken first place and was Munster Champion for 2011. The final competition of the day for the band was Grade five MAPS. This is a very specialized competition as the tunes to be played have to be picked from a preselected list of tunes which are be deemed to be slightly more challenging than tunes normally played in this grade. Again the band came to the line with great confidence and created a fantastic sound when they struck up and despite the difficult tunes they put on a marvelous performance. Again when the results were announced De La Salle achieved first place in both piping and drumming and were again deemed Munster Champions for 2011. The day in Tralee finished with all of the pipers and drummers parading through the streets of the town.

Young Waterford People win prizes at The Southern Solo Piping and Drumming League (05/05/11)

Over the last two months thirteen young people from Waterford travelled to various locations around the South of Ireland to compete in Solo Piping and Drumming competitions. The events were organized by various Branches of the Irish Pipe band Association and were held in Newcastle West in Co Limerick, New Ross Co Wexford and Dingle in Co Kerry. A very high standard of playing was achieved at each event and each performer received excellent comments from the Judges on how to improve their performances going forward. All of the young people enjoyed the experience and will now return to the De La Salle Scout Pipe Band where they perform on a regular basis. The marks achieved in each separate event were accumulated to give the results for the Southern Solo League and the following won trophies:

All of these young players will now go on to compete with their bands in various competitions throughout the country over the coming months. On May 15^th De La Salle will host a Mini Bands Competition in Stephen Street school and anyone interested in hearing some good quality piping and drumming are welcome to come along between 12.30 and 5.00 and experience what should be a top quality event. People of all ages interested in learning Highland Piping and Drumming are welcome to come to Stephen St School any Monday night between 7.30 to 9.30 to explore the possibilities with members of the band.

Congratulations to Emily Costello (pictured above) and Eoin Falconer from the 7th De La Salle Scout Troop who were awarded with the Chief Scout's Award by the Chief Scout Michael J Shinnick at the Waterford Scout County Challenge last weekend. Eoin and Emily are the 22nd and 23rd members of the De La Salle Scout Group to receive the award. The Chief Scout's Award is the highest award that a youth member can achieve within the organisation. Group Leader, Seamus Purcell was the first to congratulate both Eoin and Emily on their awards saying that it was an excellent achievement for any Scout to progress the full way through the award scheme and it was something that was rarely done.

Highly Successful weekend for De La Salle at County Challenge (18/04/11)

Above: Members of the 7th De La Salle Scout Troop and Brian Fanning, County Commissioner and Michael J Shinnick, Chief Scout with the Louis Murphy Memorial Trophy.

The 2011 Waterford Scout County Challenge Weekend took place from April 15th to 17th last. Congratulations to the 3rd De La Salle Scout Troop who came in second place and the 7th Scout Troop who came third. The 3rd were also winners of the Campcraft Trophy. Well done also to St. Paul's Scout Troop who were winners of the competition. The County Challenge tests scouts in all of their skills including cooking and campcraft. Speaking after the event, Seamus Purcell, Group Leader said he was delighted with the results and was hugely impressed with all the hard work the troops and leaders have put in and the high standards they continue to achieve year after year.

Owen Riordan, our Chairman and former Group Leader, Scoutleader and Venturer Leader was also presented with a 25 year Service medal on the weekend. On behalf of everybody in the De La Salle Scout Group Seamus Purcell expressed thanks from the Group for all the loyalty and service he has put in.

Above: Members of the 3rd De La Salle Scout Troop with the Ted Ryan cup for second place and the Campcraft Shield.

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Tree planting ceremony in People's Park (02/04/11)

Above: Cllr. Mary Roche, Mayor, with 83 year-old John Sharpe, De La Salle Scouts' oldest member and 6 year-old Charlie Southard, the youngest member, planting a Fennessy's Oak at the People's Park on Saturday March 12th to mark National Tree Week. Also pictured is Seamus Purcell, Group Leader.

The Mayor of Waterford, Cllr. Mary Roche, and the De La Salle Scouts and Band took part in a tree planting ceremony at The People's Park on Saturday 12th March. This ceremony recognised that trees are an essential part of our environment and by doing something as simple as planting a tree everyone can play their part in helping the environment. A Fennessy's Oak was planted at this ceremony to mark National Tree Week. This tree species is very rare and has a long association with Waterford. The tree first originated in Fennessy's Nursery, in the townland of Grange, back in the 1820's. One of the original specimens from this period is alive and healthy taking pride of place at the main entrance to the park. By planting this tree we will add significantly to the biodiversity and visual amenity of the park ensuring it will continue to be a great asset for future generations.

Speaking at this tree planting, Mayor Cllr. Mary Roche recognised the importance of planting trees: "National Tree Week is an ideal opportunity not just for local authorities but for groups like Scouts, schools and families all over Ireland to do something positive for their local landscape. By planting this tree for National Tree Week here in our community we can inspire people, young and old, to get out into the fresh air and plant trees together. It is great fun too - the thrill of going out and getting our hands dirty, something many of us don't do very often, is really rewarding and satisfying whether you are planting one tree or a hundred."

Woodbadge Awards for David and Emily (25/03/11)

Congratulations to David Collins and Emily Ennis who are Assistant Scoutleaders in the 3rd De La Salle Scout Troop who were presented with their Woodbadge awards on Thursday 24th March last.

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Eoin Smith	De La Salle	1^st Place	Novice Side Drumming
Hazel Murray	De La Salle	1^st Place	Novice Piping
Kevin Hennessy	De La Salle and New Ross	1^st Place	Under 16 Side Drumming
Megan O'Connor	De La Salle	1^st Place	Introductory Tenor Drumming
Emily Costello	De La Salle	2^nd Place	Under 16 Side Drumming
Ciara Duffy	De La Salle	2^nd Place	Introductory Tenor Drumming
Eimear Costello	De La Salle	3^rd Place	Under 12 and Under 14 Piping
James Stone	De La Salle	3^rd Place	Small Pipes