Shankill Road Defenders
Posted by Jim on August 12, 2026
Shankill Road Defenders praise Fleadh organisers after ‘extraordinary welcome’ at City Hall performance
The west Belfast band received a rapturous welcome on arrival at the Gig Rig during Sunday’s final day of performances
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By Conor Coyle
August 12, 2026 at 6:00am BST
A Belfast marching band from the Shankill Road has praised the organisers of the Fleadh after they say they received an “extraordinary welcome” for their performance at Belfast City Hall on Sunday night.
Gordon Ramsey from the Shankill Road Defenders flute band told The Irish News that they and other bands from loyalist and unionist backgrounds were given a seat at the table at the largest celebration of Irish traditional music in the world, not just as a token gesture.
The Defenders were among a large group of marching bands who participated across the week of musical performance in the city, which has been hailed a roaring success ahead of Belfast hosting the event again in 2027.
The west Belfast band received a rapturous welcome on arrival at the Gig Rig during Sunday’s final day of performances, before playing a number of tunes, including ‘The Apprentice Boys’ and ‘Star of the County Down’.
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“They applauded us from the moment we came out the doors at the City Hall, so I think they were initially applauding us because we were from the Shankill and we showed up,” Mr Ramsey said.
“By the end of the performance, they were definitely applauding because they were enjoying the music, you can feel when you are connecting with an audience.
“I have to say we were pleasantly surprised by just how relaxed everything was.
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Video: Belfast Bands Forum
“We were concerned that when we were walking around the town in uniform might be a problem, but when we did it was no problem at all.
“When we performed at the City Hall we got an extraordinary welcome from the moment we stepped out of the doors.
“We were very happy with the atmosphere, we all enjoyed it much more than we thought we were going to.”
Mr Ramsey, an academic at Queen’s University who gave a lecture at the Grand Opera House on Saturday about marching bands, has been playing with the Shankill Road Defenders for over a decade.
He says there had been “scepticism and opposition” from some within their community to the decision to perform at the Fleadh, but the majority responded positively.
“The band wasn’t hard to convince because this band has really committed itself for over a decade to engaging with other communities, playing our music to anyone who wants to hear it.
“That has been a longstanding policy really driven by our chair David Thompson, with the full support of the band.
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“We feel that that policy has done us good. Others within our community were not convinced, we did get scepticism and opposition from some people who felt we shouldn’t be doing that.
“But we got a lot more support than criticism, so we never really questioned our decision and we think that that decision has been fully vindicated.”
The Shankill Road Defenders are founding members of the Belfast Bands Forum, set up last year to coordinate and promote local marching band culture. The forum was represented on the organising committee of the Fleadh.
Mr Ramsey was full of praise for the organisers, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, who he says brought loyalist bands to the table and ensured their voices were heard.
“They facilitated those connections that allowed trust to be built, and allowed us and quite a number of other bands to come on board, with some confidence that it was going to be what we wanted it to be.
“We felt that we were engaged and being listened to. When we had complaints, something was done about it and we felt that we were at the table, not at somebody else’s mercy.”
An evening dedicated to marching bands also took place at Titanic Slipways last Thursday, where ‘The Sash’ was among the songs played by bands.
Darren Leighton, chair of the Belfast Bands Forum, described the reception their bands and musicians received over the week of the Fleadh as “incredible” and says he hopes it is not a one-off.
“One of the most important things for us has been challenging some of the stereotypes around the marching band community,” Mr Leighton said.
“We didn’t need to argue against those stereotypes — we simply put our musicians and our culture on the stage and allowed people to experience it for themselves.
“For me, this week has shown that engagement doesn’t mean giving up who you are. You can be confident and proud of your own identity while sharing your culture with others.
“Our musicians stepped outside their comfort zones this week, performed in front of new audiences and were welcomed everywhere they went.”