Frank Saunders

Most bands people in the republic of Ireland will be very familiar with the name of Frank Saunders as indeed will many in Northern Ireland for his name has been synonymous with drumming since the 1950's.
Both a successful Drum Sergeant with Ireland's most successful band of the 50's and 60's and a respected adjudicator North and South of the border, Frank Saunders has also made huge contributions to a number of bands as drumming instructor throughout the 70's and 80's and the Saunders children and grand children have all continued in Frank's footsteps through their involvement with the pipe band scene in Ireland.
A native of Donnybrook, a now fashionable suburb of Dublin, Frank was born in 1933 into a Dublin very different to that which exists today. The Dublin of the 1930's was the hub of the pipe band scene in Ireland and boasted dozens of successful bands.
It was in 1945 that Frank was first persuaded by his brother Bill to join the drum corps of the local Donnybrook Scouts. Frank was 10 years of age. The Drum Sergeant in the band at that time was Eamonn Tracey and the band also had the services of a Scottish drumming instructor, Bob McVeigh (ex-Scots Guards). Frank fondly remembers the first pair of drum sticks he used for practice, which were whittled from kindling in the family home.
The Donnybrook Scouts at that time were led by Pipe Major George Purcell and his brother Leo Purcell was the pipe sergeant. Frank joined the band in 1945 and soon tasted success by winning the All Ireland Junior Grade in 1947 and the All Ireland Intermediate Grade in 1948. The Donnybrook Scouts Pipe Band travelled to one of the earliest Inter -Celtic festivals when they made the trip to Quimper in Brittany in 1948.
Bill Saunders went to work in London in 1949 and Frank took over as Drum Sergeant. Donnybrook Scouts progressed to play at senior level but did not figure in the prizes as the senior piping scene was then dominated by the St. Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band, the Fintan Lalor Pipe Band and the James Connolly Pipe band.
Frank recalls that during the 1949/1950 period, the Donnybrook Scouts purchased a set of kilts in Mckenzie tartan which were being sold on by another band at the 'right price'. Up to this the Scout Band had worn the traditional scout uniform of short pants, shirt and neckerchief. Some of the more conservative types at Scout HQ expelled the band from the Scout Association for a breach in uniform policy! The band changed its name and continued in existence for some further years as the Hibernian Pipe Band.
It was inevitable that a talent such as Frank's would progress on to bigger and better things and in 1953, he joined the St. Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band which at that time was under the direction of PM Joe Byrne. A year later, PM John Duggan took control of the band.The O'Toole's drum corps at that time was under the direction of Joe Donovan, son of the legendary Paddy Donovan. The drum corps was completed by Joe Andrews and Willie Crowley.
In 1954, Frank made the first of many trips to the Cowal Highland Gathering and it was there that he first met the famous Alex Duthart of Shotts and Dykehead. Alex as a young drummer had been hugely impressed by Paddy Donovan's drumming technique and he made a point of greeting his son's drum corps by shaking the hand of each drummer . This hand shake led to a life long acquaintance.
Frank spent the next seven years in the O'Toole's drum corps. He became Drum sergeant in 1955 and was joined by his brothers Bill and Gerry. Willie Crowley completed the back line. The band won the All Ireland senior title in 1958 (drumming and piping) ; in 1959 they finished 3rd. as a band and 1st. in drumming and in 1960 they were denied the drumming hat trick by Ballycoan who pipped them for the drumming title by a quarter of a point. Bill Saunders had emigrated to Canada leaving them with only three side drummers. The Ballycoan drummers at that time were under the direction of the very talented Kit Reynolds.
After winning the senior grade in Ireland in 1958, the band went to the Cowal Games where they were graded Grade 3 by the Scottish Pipe Band Association. They won the Daily Record Challenge Shield for best band in this grade and also the McBrayne Cup for best drum corp. In that same year, all the drumming prizes went to Irish bands : Grade One 1st. Fintan Lalor 2nd. Ballycoan ; Grade 2 29th. Old Boys ; Grade 3 O'Toole's; Grade 4 Narraghmore.
It was 1958 that Frank also hit the pinnacle of his solo career when he won the All Ireland Senior Solo Drumming Championships to add to his growing reputation as a drummer of great quality.
It was possibly inevitable that Frank would eventually gravitate towards the country's most successful band at that time, the Fintan Lalor Pipe Band under Pipe Major Tim Keogh and this he eventually did in 1961. The Fints went on to win the All Ireland in 1962, 1963, and 1964 as well as winning the Grade 2 drumming (Hamilton Shield) in Cowal in 1969 and again in 1971. The Fintan Lalor drum corps at this stage consisted of Frank Saunders, Ciaran Mordaunt (current Chairman of the IPBA and well known adjudicator), Barry Lawlor, Francis Merrigan and Paul Merrigan (nephews of Tommy Merrigan). Barry Lawlor was later to die tragically in a motorcycle accident.
During this period , the Fintan Lalor band were familiar figures north and south of the border and they enjoyed numerous friendly rivalries with bands in Northern Ireland. Both the late Tim Keogh and Frank Saunders were to be held in great respect by their northern colleagues and were also regular visitors as adjudicators of competitions.
Tim Keogh retired from the Fints in 1970 and this was eventually to lead to a decline in the band's fortunes. Frank continued to play with the band until 1982 .
Frank and his precocious 12 year old daughter Rhona joined the drum corps of the Rathcoole Pipe Band in County Dublin and went on to win two All Ireland drumming prizes in Grade 4 and Grade 3. The drum corps of Rathcoole also appeared on a Chieftains' recording of the time.
Frank did return to the Fints for a brief spell in the late 80's but his last competition appearance with a pipe band was to be with a band he had helped bring into the world in the mid 70's, and which his family have had close ties with since inception, namely New Ross and District. Frank helped the band to a 6th. place in the 1995 Worlds in Glasgow playing in his son's corps.
Frank's involvement with New Ross can be traced back to the late 60's when he made a number of visits to the town to teach the drum corps of the FCA Pipe Band. When an ex-drummer of the FCA Pipe Band, Pat O'Gorman decided to found a new pipe band in New Ross in 1974, it was again to Frank Saunders he turned. The Pipe Major of the new band was a very inexperienced 21 year old ex-piper from the St. Kevin's Pipe Band in Bray, Co. Wicklow- Brian Mac Mahon.
Frank became a regular visitor to New Ross in the 1970's and he was the biggest influence on the direction the band would take. He had an enormous input into the structures of the newly formed band and was a knowledgeable mentor for the young pipe major as well as for the drum corps. By 1980, Frank's son Frank Junior , had taken over as both instructor and lead drummer in New Ross (having learned his trade in the Fintan Lalor corps). Frank Junior was later to be joined by his brother Ian on Bass drum, his sister Rhona on sides, his wife Margaret on pipes, his son Paul on tenor and his daughter Michelle on tenor.
On one memorable occasion, Frank and Rhona visited New Ross for a practice and spent three days there- snowbound! The Southeast was cut off by freak blizzards! The Saunders connection with New Ross has been an unbroken one since 1974.
In the background during this long career in pipe bands has been Frank's closest companion, his wife Betty. Born in neighbouring Ranelagh in Dublin, Frank met Betty Burke at an early age. Through Frank's influence, Betty also got involved with pipe bands and joined the City of Dublin Girl's Pipe Band where she spent six years as a piper. During that time she was under the direction of one Nan Tully- the mother of the now legendary Terry Tully and grandmother of the up and coming Alen Tully. Terry Tully's father, Tommy, also taught the City of Dublin PB. Isn't it strange how pipe bands often run through families?
Frank and Betty's romance didn't always run smooth , however, for some time after taking up the pipes, Betty and Frank had a 'falling out' which lasted for a full year. Strangely, it was to be through the pipe band scene that they were to get back together. A massed pipe band marching from Dublin city centre to the Oireachtas football and hurling finals in Croke Park was an annual event, and it was at one of these events that Frank spotted Betty, he with one band and she with another. The peace was made and they have been together ever since.
Some years ago, Frank was cajoled out of retirement by the persuasive Wilbie Hanna to take part in the veteran's drumming competition in Downpatrick. Never one to shirk a challenge ,Frank duly dusted off his score for Balmorel Highlanders, Dornie Ferry and Loch Carron and duly took first prize in his section. Frank finished second the following year at the ripe age of 70!
Frank Saunders certainly stands as one of the giants of the pipe band scene in Ireland.
Sadly, Frank died on 8th. August 2008 after a short illness. he is greatly missed by his family and by everyone in the pipe band world.
On 14th. November 2009, the New Ross and District Pipe Band staged a tribute concert in his memory. This concert was a sell out and had contributions from musicians from Ireland , Scotland and France.