Simon Dickey

Simon Dickey died at age 21 in a 2003 car accident. He was a member of the Garvey Silver Band, which holds an annual concert in his memory. Simon raised money for the Royal National Institute for the Blind in honour of a friend who lost her sight in the Omagh bombing in the 1990s, one of the worst IRA bombings, so bad it gave rise to serious peace negotiations. The Garvey Silver Band’s concert continues to raise money for RNIB.

I went to the concert last night and it was very moving. When Simon died, he was working on the solo in En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor, which had been featured in a recent movie, Brassed Off. Last night the solo was played by a very young, very talented teenage girl. If you listen to the piece and think of this young man trying to master it just before he died, you too might get a bit weepy.

Silver bands mostly play uptempo marches, and last night was no exception. There was also an amazing flautist and a choir--it was a long night.

I got weepy a second time, when the band played Gresford, the Miners Hymn, named for the Gresford mining disaster in Wales, when 211 miners died. The Grenfell tower fire was a few days ago, so I’m sure I wasn’t the only one listening to this sad song and thinking of people dying horrible deaths.

The band was conducted by my friend Tom Whyte, who is not only a talented musician but incredibly big hearted. I doubt this annual tribute would occur but for his commitment to keeping Simon’s memory alive.
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