An Cosantóir

27 The first Air Corps pipe band was formed after a request from Colonel Owen O'Neill who was due to command the outgoing 34th Infantry Battalion bound for Peacekeeping operations in the Congo in 1961. Colonel O' Neill didn't have one and was finding it difficult to get a band together after the initial Irish UN battalions had deployed. It is said that Colonel O' Neill recognised the great value of military pipe bands, especially while operating abroad, and he was very anxious to have one of his own. It seems that a request was relayed to the Air Corps, whereupon a number of interested individuals were thrown together in the weeks before the rotation and hastily supervised in the learning of a marching band's instruments, music and drills. Upon arriving in the mission area the band's repertoire was quite limited but their instruction and eagerness to learn meant they improved quite quickly and to the Battal - ion Commander's satisfaction. That pipe band, augmented at times by other musicians, was an integral part of that battalion's history conducting recitals as well as carrying out the required military operations and patrols in volatile urban and jungle environments. In a Military Archives of Ireland Oral History Programme recording (MAOHP) collected in 2017, Sergeant Frank Donnelly (ret) details his experiences in the Congo with that battalion and in particular with the pipe band, where he describes the patrols he lead or was part of, moving through the bush and into villages. These foot patrols at times consisting purely of Air Corps band members, are possibly the first example of this happening in Irish peacekeeping history. The pipe band members, although fulfilling their official ceremonial duties at events and functions, also acted as a morale boost and as entertainment for both peacekeeping troops and the local population. When they eventually rotated home after their six months tour of duty, the band members dismounted from their vehicles out - side Baldonnell Aerodrome and marched in through the main gate with Frank Donnelly as Band Major, while playing their instruments to great applause and appreciation from the personnel of the Air Corps. Paddy McGloughlin was Band Sergeant and Jimmy Colbert was Pipe Major with the famous Peter McManus on drums. They were greeted on the main square in this homecom - ing by Officer Commanding the Air Corps, Colonel Billy Keane. This reception at Baldonnell marked the end of the Air Corps Pipe Band's first engagement overseas. Soon after returning to Ireland the Air Corps Pipe Band won the All Army Championships and other accolades. THE AIR CORPS PIPE BAND The Air Corps Pipe Band in 1961 The Air Corps Pipe Band circa 2000 The Air Corps Pipe Band in Baldonnel in 1961 following their return from the Congo. Over the decades that followed the band suffered at times from low numbers joining as well as staggered recruitment into the Defence Forces. The band was reformed in 1993 and by 1994 had received a new blue uniform in line with the rest of the Corps and just in time for the 75th Anniversary in 1997, during which there was a busy events schedule. During the 1990s and into the first decades of the 21st Century, though sometimes supplemented with army musicians, the band represented the Air Corps and Defence Forces at numerous ceremonial events including the Horse Show and others here in Ireland. The band also travelled to Lourdes for many years and to locations in the USA on numerous occasions and always to great acclaim. It should be recognised and acknowledged then that the pipe band has been and continues to be a consistent and very important element of the culture and identity of the Air Corps, especially for what its members have created and maintained over the last six decades. Paddy McGloughlin, of the ONE Roger Casement Branch and original band member, gives a very good ac - count of the band's almost scratch built origins in his article 'From Col Bogey to Col O'Neill, published in the Air Corps 75th Anniversary souvenir brochure. Some retired members of the Air Corps Pipe band, one from the 1961 group and others from more recent decades, volunteer in the aviation museum today, and a number of them have recorded their stories for the oral history programme. Today, the band survives due to some stalwart personnel who have kept the music and tradition alive under the guidance of FQMS Ray Grange. The Irish Air Corps and Reserve Air Corps Pipe Band (consisting of some retired mem - bers) will perform at events throughout this Centenary Year 2022. THE AIR CORPS PIPE BAND By Cpl Michael J. Whelan – Air Corps Museum Photos: Air Corps Museum, & AC Pipe Band personnel

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