Patriot Band plans first overseas trip in 25 years
Photo by Erin Nelson.
The Homewood drum majors react after learning that the Patriot marching band will perform in the 2024 St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin, Ireland, following the halftime performance in a game between the Indians and Patriots at Waldrop Stadium on Sept. 23.
The streets of Limerick, Ireland, are old and narrow, providing a much different feel and experience than their counterparts in Pasadena, California, or New York City.
But 25 years ago, those historic streets, like the ones in California and New York more recently, felt the footsteps of the Homewood High School marching band. The Patriot Band marched in both the 1993 and 1997 St. Patrick’s Day Parades, both in Dublin and smaller cities like Limerick.
It has been a generation since the Patriot Band took their talents overseas. The band has marched in renowned U.S. parades, including the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. But in 2024, the band will travel across the Atlantic Ocean to march in the original St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Members of the last Homewood trip to Ireland now have children in the high school band who will get to experience what it’s like to travel overseas and represent their school and community.
“It was an amazing experience,” said Wendy Story, principal of Shades Cahaba Elementary. Story’s daughter, Merrill, will be a sophomore next school year, the same age Story was in 1993 when she went to Ireland as a member of the color guard.
“We hold a memory that that group of students will always cherish and hold on to,” Story said.
The trip was Story’s first journey overseas. The Irish people were “jovial” and she said she never felt like anyone was unhappy or distrusting of them.
The band heard the news of the 2024 trip at the celebration of the band’s 50th anniversary in late September.
“That was incredible,” Story said of the announcement.
Story said Merrill has not stopped talking about the connection she and her mother now share.
Leigh Lewis was also part of the 1993 color guard that traveled to Ireland. Her son Glenn will be a junior next school year when the band travels.
While the family vacations, this will be the first time Glenn has been overseas, Lewis said.
“I think it’s fun and cool because it’s something we’ve done,” Lewis said.
Lewis recalled being in their Limerick hotel and seeing videos and images of their hometown of Birmingham being hit with a major snow storm.
“It was just crazy to see,” Lewis said.
In 1993, the band took part in a medieval banquet that Lewis recalled featured traditional Irish instruments, including bagpipes, which featured prominently in the parade.
The kids in Dublin were “enamored” with the Star-Spangled Girls outfits, adorned with sequins. The children thought they were wearing glass, Lewis said, as they had never seen sequins before.
It wasn’t until Glenn reached Homewood High School that Lewis said she felt the connection between her children and her own childhood, as he attended different elementary and middle schools.
“This is a building I spent four years in,” Lewis said. “Once he got to the high school and we went to pick up his [band] uniform, it was so amazing.”
While it may not be easy to relish their achievement in the moment, Lewis said she hopes the students realize how special it is to be a part of the band and have this opportunity.
She also said she plans on being there with her son and the rest of the band.
“I’m not going to miss out on a big band trip,” Lewis said.
Band Director Chris Cooper said a parent recommended the band travel back to Ireland, which led to months of research on his part. The band was able to get one of the last spots in the parade, he said. Cooper and Homewood High School Principal Joel Henneke will travel this upcoming March to see a band from Oklahoma march in the parade to get a feel for what it will be like.
The band will march in two parades on the same day, he said, in Dublin and a smaller city. The kids are “blown away,” he said.
And while Cooper has no plans to step away anytime soon, this does cross off a bucket-list item, he said.
“It’s just something that I wanted to do before I call it quits,” Cooper said.
