Ireland's taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen, who was sitting in the front row at the competition, said the band's performance was 'brilliant'.

He added that he was 'very pleased' to see them perform at their first ever All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil (festival of music), which took place in Tullamore, Ireland.

The traditional band, which consists of Katie Lawrence, Dave Kilgallon and Adam Rhodes on fiddle, Rachel Higham and Patrick Knight on flute, Beccie Hirst (concertina), Mary Malloy (button key accordion), Russell Cowin (double bass), John Ryan (drums) and Kirsty Lawrence (piano) competed against 15 other bands from around the world, from as far away as the US and Argentina.

Some of the band members also qualified to take part in individual events – Katie played in the senior fiddle, Patrick played in the senior tin whistle and Patrick and Mary took part in the senior duo.

Although they were not placed in the top three, bandmaster Jackie Buchan said they had 'a great time' and 'flew the flag for the Isle of Man'.

'We were well received by the audience and other competitors but didn't win any prizes, unfortunately,' she said.

'No one realised how high the standard of the competition was going to be – it was exceptionally high.'

She said they enjoyed playing in front of a full audience at the Church of Assumption.

'It was exciting playing in front of so many people,' she said.

The band also performed at the official reception for overseas guests.
Jackie said: 'The band went down really well, and as well as playing a set of Irish reels, they played some Manx tunes and Dave Kilgallon performed the Manx Boys Jig.

'The audience at the concert, all of whom were traditional Irish music and dance enthusiasts from around the world, were most interested to see this and hear the Manx tunes, and see how they compare to the Irish.
'I think the general impression we left was that the Manx band were good fun, and it's certainly now more widely known that good quality traditional music is played in the Isle of Man.'

It was the most prestigious international competiton the band, who have been together for less than a year, had played in.

The members also play in other traditional bands in the Island – Russell, Dave and Adam play in King Chiaullee and Beccie plays in young Manx band Pobble.

John plays in rock band JFK and Mary, Patrick and Rachel run an Irish music night every Wednesday at O'Donnell's, in Castle Street, Douglas.
Sisters Katie and Kirsty have performed in the Island and further afield.