MEMBERS of the Ancient Order of Hibernians will march to a different beat when they travel to Co Antrim for their annual St Patrick's Day parade.

Taking pride of place will be a 130-year-old 'Owen Roe' Lambeg drum, as the village of Rasharkin hosts hundreds of Hibernians and thousands of spectators on Friday.

The drum, which dates from the 1890s and has not been carried publicly for almost a century, will lead a large contingent of Tyrone Hibernians expected to attend the parade.

More usually associated with the Orange Order, it is one of only a handful of Hibernian Lambegs known to exist and requires two men to carry it.

The historic drum is named after Owen Roe O'Neill, the Irish chieftain who overcame the British at the Battle of Benburb in 1646.

In recent years the numbers of people attending Hibernian St Patrick's Day parades have increased, with some areas also showing a growth in membership.

Tyrone AOH president Gerry McGeough said the organisers of this year's parade believe it will be one of the largest in years.

He said it is the only one that “honours St Patrick and the great Christian heritage that he established in Ireland”.

“Other parades around the country tend to revolve around someone dressed as an onion being chased by someone dressed as a carving knife with both being followed by a tractor and a couple of llamas,” he said.

“What has this got to do with St Patrick or the Irish nation?

“We on the other hand unashamedly honour our Catholic faith and promote our Gaelic-Irish heritage."

Friday's parade is due to begin at 3pm.

This is interesting. Thank you, John Grace. I've heard of Hibernians and Lambeth drums but I've never heard the story of what they're all about.



These guys have TWO drums:
http://music-world.org/instruments5-percussion5.html

Quote

Characteristics
The Lambeg drum is, together with the bagpipe, one of the loudest acoustic instruments in the world, frequently reaching over 120 dB. It measures approximately 3 feet 1?4 inch (92.1 cm) in diameter and 2 feet (61 cm) deep, and weighs 35–40 pounds (16–18 kg). Usually it is carried by the drummer while marching, using a neck harness.

Origin
The origin of the Lambeg is unclear. It is commonly believed to have come to Ulster with English settlers in the early-mid-17th century. Other accounts state it came to Ireland with the Duke of Schomberg's men of the army of William of Orange during the Williamite war. Having its roots in the 17th century European military instruments it was originally smaller. Traditionally it was accompanied by the shrill fife, a small transverse flute similar to the piccolo. Over time, the drum grew in size through emulousness between players. The drum eventually got to such a scale that the fifes were drowned out. Today the fife and Lambeg together are the exception rather than the norm in parades; the combination is most common in County Antrim. Most of the original Ulster fifers were of Flemish descent. A number of French Huguenots had followed William's army into Ireland and the Flemish, English and Scottish Protestant groups had united into the Orange Order.

The name comes from the village of Lambeg, County Antrim, which is situated ten miles southwest of Belfast and two miles from Lisburn. Tradition has it, that it was in the Lambeg area that the instrument was first played with canes. The drum is sometimes also called "tibbies", "slashers", or "killymans".

Construction
The Lambeg drum's shell is generally made of oak. Lambeg drum heads are goat skins, they are very thin and strong, and of even thickness and consistency all over as far as possible. A Lambeg skin will also receive "special" treatment that is a secret to each maker. Because of their qualities they are also sometimes used for smaller drums such as bodhráns.

The Lambegs are different from other large drums in the quality of their tone. The thin heads are pulled tighter and tighter until the tone is bright and hard. There are no mechanical screws on the drums. The heads are held on with a wooden rim and, traditionally, linen ropes.

Tuning a drum:
(the source website is unavailable for whatever reason)


I'd like to know where the Catholic element is -- all these sites seem to only mention Protestants (William of Orange, Huguenots, Orange Order...).

Talk by Gerry McGeough president of Brantry AOH and the present Tyrone County Board president on the history surrounding the Owen Roe O'Neill Hibernian Lambeg drum