New home for Town Band

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="04b785a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Councillor Keith Martin </B></FONT><B>     |    </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Councillor Keith Martin "><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="news21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News"><U><I><B><U>Back to news page</U></B></I></U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="1cb4c5e0.jpg" border=0 width="76" height="94" ALT="Cllr Keith Martin of Westport Town Council, Westport, Mayo. www.votekeithmartin.com visit politicalquote.blogspot.com" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>New home for Town Band</I></div> <bR> <div> Labour councillor Keith Martin has praised the residents of the ‘cottages’ for answering the call for assistance from Westport Town Band. Last week the residents and Westport Town Council made available the McConville Park hall for the band as a new home. This follows a series of appeals by Town Band members like Larry Hingerton who have spent months searching out suitable venues for the town’s brass band.</div> <bR> <div> At the May meeting Cllr Keith Martin had the council agree to the establishment of an emergency sub-committee of Westport Town Council to assist in helping the band find a suitable and permanent home as the band had been in some difficulties in recent months. The band had been finding it difficult to find suitable premises to rehearse in and was unable to take part in this year’s St Patrick’s Day parade as a result.</div> <bR> <div> Fortunately before the committee had even met progress was being made in a number of areas and the McConville Park arrangement was made with the assistance of Cllr Brendan Mulroy, who is chair of the area’s residents association. Cllr Martin praised the residents association and Cllr Mulroy saying “it has been a long search by the band for a home and the residents of the cottages, their chairman and band members like Larry Hingerton deserve the thanks of the town for keeping the band alive.</div> <bR> <div> I have been campaigning for a home for the band since 2004 but in recent months the situation became critical and I was able to call on the council to set up a committee to assist the band’s search but events overtook us and I am really thrilled to see the band being homed in what is the heart of the town. The Town Band is as much part of our heritage as the Octagon or Westport House, it is a part of the living heritage of the town which is too often overlooked; however it is now safe and I look forward to hearing Larry Hingerton and the band belting out some great music in the years to come!”</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>