The Tradition of the Lambeg Drum
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Another
theory is that the first Lambeg drum was made for the Battle of the
Diamond in September 1795, after which the Orange Order was formed.
Sandy Row drum maker William Hewitt claims his grandfather made the
first Lambeg drum in 1870 and it had its first appearance at a Twelfth
demonstration in Lambeg the following year. This drum measured 86
centimetres in diameter and 61 centimetres in width, and is still
in the possession of a Moira, Co. Down lodge. However, there are drums
which pre-date the 1870 version - one in Belfast is marked with the
name Walsh the drum maker and dated 1849, the year of the Battle of
Dolly's Brae. It measures 72 centimetres in diameter and 61 centimetres
in width and resembles present-day Lambeg drums, with a construction
of two oak boards.
William
did stop at Lambeg outside Lisburn on his way to the Boyne in 1690,
and this could probably explain the name given to the large drums
which have become such a dominant feature of Orange parades over the
past ~50 years.
Various
animal skins have been used for the drum heads. but today the goatskin
is the most popular. The shell is mostlv of wood, but brass has been
used. Drum sticks are of wooden cane.
The beating
of drums has been associated with Orange processions since the formation
of the Order in 1795. A drum was carried at a Twelfth demonstration
in Co. Armagh in 1796, and Lord Gosford, of Markethill, confirms this
in a letter to the Lord Lieutenant, Lord Camden in Dublin Castle.
"I
have the honour to acquaint your excellency that the meeting of Orangemen
took place in different parts of this county. One party, consisting
Of 30 companies with banners etc'., after parading through Portadown,
Loughgall, and Richhill came towards this place. the party had one
drum and each company had a fife and two or three men in front with
painted wands in their hands who acted as commanders."
The 1796
version was probably the first of the fife and drum combinations that
were to become a celebrated part of Orange culture. Before the dramatic
increase in bands by the early half of this centurv. the accompaniment
of Orange lodges by drummers and fifers was a regular feature of parades.
Lambeg drummers beat to a set rhythm or roll whether it he tune with
another drum or a fife. The sound of the drum travels horizontallv
and with the shrill tones of the fife moving in a vertical direction
the two blend in quite a unique way.
Armagh,
not surprisingly, has the strongest tradition of Lambeg drumming of
any county in Northern Ireland. Travel the roads of Tandragee, Lurgan
or Loughgall any evening leading up to the Twelfth and you are nearly
bound to hear the staccato heat sounding out from a fully tightened
drum over the summer night air.
Even prominent
politicians like Jack Maginnis and the late Harold McCusker loved
a crack with the cane on the goatskins that made up the head of a
Lambeg drum.
But the
advent of more bands on the scene has meant a reduction in the number
of drums being carried at Twelfth parades. And even the traditionalists
in Co. Armagh will admit that the place for Lambeg drums in the Twelfth
walk is narrowing.
In the
heyday of drumming - back in the thirties and forties - the 22 lodges
of Tandragee Orange district usually had about 60 drums out on a Twelfth
parade. Loughgall, Portadown. and Lurgan districts were the same and
it was commonplace for 200 drums to be carried at the county demonstration
with some of the drums being accompanied by a fifer,
Now the
quota of drums taking part has been reduced to around 50 overall,
most of them taken only by the Tandragee. Loughgall, Lurgan and Portadown
Orangemen.
Getting
drummers is also another problem for the lodges and sometimes it is
left to a few enthusiasts in the number to look after the drums for
the day. Most of the Co. Armagh drums, as elsewhere in the Province.
are now owned bv individual members of a lodge and this allows greater
freedom to participate in the many drumming matches that are held
throughout Ulster from Februarv to November each year.
New drums
can still be purchased from William Hewitt in Sandy Row at a cost
of about £100 but there are also drum-makers in Carrickfergus
and Tandragee. Some in centres from Co. Armagh to South Derry and
South Antrim.
The weather
is a factor in getting the best out of a drum and a summer heatwave
was considered to be ideal. The warmer and drier it is the sweeter
the tune. Wet weather spoils a good drum. There are no tunes as such
in a Lambeg drum but each drummer has his own distinct rhythm and
roll.
The drumming
matches are organised by three different associations, the largest
operating from Glenavy and carrying a Province-wide membership. The
other two are in Mid-Ulster and in the Tandragee area. In addition
to cups the prizes at drumming matches can include cash incentives
for the winner.
It has
now become largely a sport and 30-60 drums usually take part in the
matches that are held every week-end in Belfast - drumming has practically
died out in the city. But in most of the provincial centres, notably
Co. Armagh, you will, even if the drums are fewer in number than they
were in the halcyon days of the fifer.
Only a
few traditional fifers remain - in the South Down and South Antrim
areas. Unlike the drummers theirs is a dying art.
For Orangemen, the Twelfth would not be the same without a rattle or two on a Lambeg Drum.
