Kada Ka Boom Arts celebrates Twenty Years Creativity.

On the 5th of May 2018, I celebrated being twenty years self-employed.

Under the guidance of Pat McDaid of the then organisation “The Drogheda Partnership” I decided to officially give this banging drums for a living a proper go. Up until this point, I had been doing the odd workshop here and there and sticking in shows and performances where they just happened to come up. But from the 5th of May 1998, I officially became known to this invisible person called “The Collector General” who required me to send in this thing called a “tax return”. And not just that year but for every years since. This was grown up stuff.
You can read the juicier details here if you wish.
https://www.kadakaboomarts.com/about.html
But, to summerise….
At the time, I played with the group, Ceol Batucada. Made up of Martina Farrell, Niall Gregory Valerie Leddy, James Coogan Kathleen Carolan, Caoimhe Mc Carthy Aidan Mc Cartney, John Mc Govern and I think, at the time, Colin Blakey. We gigged all over the country and had a blast. I was half way through a three-year course studying percussion with Dudu Tucci. Brian Fleming had some mad idea to create a big drum and tour it around Ireland for the millennium the following year and thought I might like a gig at it. The town of Drogheda had a Samba Festival. Drogheda didn’t have an Arts festival but we did have the Droichead Arts Centre with Paul O'Hanrahan as administrator. Mary Mc Alleese was president, Bertie Ahern was Taoiseach, we used the Punt but were about to change to the Euro, we all voted on the Good Friday agreement, Bill Clinton was over whom I did a gig for along with Hillary and Chelsea, (Cheers for the gig John Paul Courtney) Father Ted’s Dermot Morgan died, Glenroe was still on the tele, Gerry Ryan was on the radio, Drogheda United were going up… or down..again.
Oh and I moved in with Petrina Finn. Who I’m still good friends with! Just about....
In fact, its fair to say, that without that last person, Petrina Finn, I most surely would not be able to post this post. I still remember getting a cheque for £80 Punts on the 2nd of December one year and not having a single other piece of work in my diary…forever..it seemed. She fed and watered me when I hadn’t the money for food or water and thought me so many lessons along the way. Phew!
The work in my job is getting the work. The job itself is brilliant. I get to entertain, which is probably really what its all about. Between The Mad Hatters, The Absurdist Pipe Band and more and standing in front of a bunch of people waving my hands up and down, blowing a whistle and telling folk when to bang and when to stop banging, there’s plenty of opportunity to entertain.
As Rob Welsh once said to me over the phone when we were talking about me getting a gig with the Absurdist Pipe Band, “Kieran, ya were born to be a Clown”. I know a few teachers who’d still agree with you Rob.

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Lots, lots more than this happened.  If you fancy the adventure have a look at what Wikipedia said was going on.

In Ireland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_in_Ireland

Or in film
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_in_film

Or in music
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_in_music