Blood And Thunder

Behind the scenes with a Loyalist Protestant marching band Blood & Thunder explores the cultural phenomenon of Protestant flute and drum bands which have flourished even as Northern Ireland’s other loyal institutions, such as the Orange Order, have begun to decline. These bands provide the thunderous music and swagger of Northern Ireland’s marching season in parades across Ulster. However, their music is often seen as provocative to the Nationalist tradition and as a result the parades have regularly been a prime focus of sectarian tension and trouble. Focusing on the prize-winning Castlederg Young Loyalists Flute Band, which boasts that it has been `marching along the border for 30 years’, Blood & Thunder provides an outsider’s perspective on a year in the life of the band, as well as a unique insight into what motivates young band members to keep up the tradition of marching. Woven into the narrative are interviews with current band members and `Old Boys’, as well as a detailed look at the political, historical, geographical and social environment in which the bands operate. There are 584 marching bands in Northern Ireland, yet their existence and activities are unreported apart from news of flashpoint tensions and riots. This book reveals the inside story on the most dynamic Irish cultural phenomenon of the early twenty-first century. It argues that in many respects the Blood and Thunder bands fulfil a role in Northern Ireland similar to the GAA in the Republic, by espousing their culture, passing on traditional skills and instilling local pride in young participants who compete against each other over a season that extends from March to October. Woven around the diary of an outside observer with an 'insider's viewpoint' during the 2009 Blood and Thunder band season, the book focuses on the prize-winning Castlederg Young Loyalist Flute Band and examines the cultural, historical, social and political nature of Blood and Thunder bands.