Irish drums take centre stage on the royal visit to Belfast

Acts from all parts of the Emerald Isle look to be having a moment. Fontaines D.C., Kneecap, and even the returning Snow Patrol headline the bands enjoying the good times right now. Of course, beyond the colossal stages of these groups, you see Irish-themed bars around the world draw in millions, particularly when an Irish singer’s on.

Music has always been a core part of Irish culture and tradition, and at the centre of it has long been the humble drum. While the acoustic guitar may now be the most commonly associated with Irish music, drums continue to be a core part of what makes Irish music click – just as the Royals found out on their visit to Belfast.

Drums to Set the Scene
There’s something distinctly traditional about drums, which is why anything that looks to offer a kind of classic appeal through Irish music will embrace the drums. An example of this would be the best 12 Pots of Gold Drums Frenzy slot. It’s an all-in Irish game, from its Gaelic patterns to the shooting rainbow across the game.

At the heart of the game are two leprechauns playing the Jumbo Drum and Cash Drum, which trigger their own features and up the beat when launched. It’s a big part of the overall soundtrack and the gameplay, showing how integral the drums are to the overall Irish experience within the game.

What some miss is that different drums have different meanings, which Northern Irish musician Roy Arbuckle leveraged to showcase Irish drums to the world, per an old BBC Radio 3 interview. The Bodhran drum is what you’d see as a regular handheld drum, made from goat skin and seen as a symbol of the Catholics.

Arbuckle noted this and decided to bring it together with the Lambeg drum. This is a colossus of a drum, measuring about three feet in diameter. It’s a Protestant drum that some say is the loudest drum in the world. Having been inspired by a stay with Japanese Kodo drummers, he opted to meld these traditional instruments for a unified Irish sound.

King Charles Plays the Beat
Having since returned to England to take a seat at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Warwickshire for The Tempest, starring Sir Kenneth Branagh, King Charles and Queen Camilla certainly made an impression on their most recent trip. They landed in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter for some whiskey sampling.

However, they quickly found themselves wrapped up in the Irish music celebration. Taking a seat with a folk group while a Riverdance performance took place, Charles and Camilla – after a short tutorial – took on the traditional Bodhran drums. Those involved hailed them as “naturals” on the drums.

The King, who was portrayed by Josh O’Connor in The Crown on Netflix, really got into the festivities of the showpiece, even joining in with one of the many varied dance acts that performed. Much of what they experienced will take to the All-Ireland Fleadh, the world’s biggest festival of traditional Irish music, in August.

Given that their hosts will have wanted the King and Queen to experience the true meaning of traditional Irish song and dance, it’s only fitting that they were passed a couple of Bodhran drums. A Lambeg might have been a bit much for the occasion.