WORKING FOR PEACE: In the July-Aug 2001 issue of Dublin's "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine is an article and photos of Presbyterian Roy ARBUCKLE, actor, director and founder of the unique Irish music group "Different Drums," with its added cultural dimension of having a Lambeg drum (see below) and a bodhran (potent symbols of the Protestant and Catholic Communities in Northern Ireland)being played side by side in perfect harmony. The band has experienced a meteoric rise since its establishment in 1992, firming believing that it is a necessity for humanity to march to the same beat. Roy says, "Sometimes our concept has been rejected even before we start to perform. In the early days we had skin-head thugs who created trouble for us in Belfast, and later in Waterford there were Republicans who were not too happy that we were using the Lambeg drum. To them it was a symbol of British Imperialism." These kind of objectors are a minority, and when most people start to listen to what we are doing, all that kind of prejudice evaporates. The Lambeg has a certain edge for Catholic people because of its association with the Orange tradition ... To an extent we are dispelling the territorial dimension of the Lambeg, and presenting it in its own right as a musical instrument." Arbuckle recently remarked, "If we do not learn to create an authentic sense of community at local level, how are we going to stop wars between nations? This philosophy underlines everything we do as a musical group. We are not trying to change people, but we are attempting to help them to express themselves a individuals within a larger community, and how to develop their own culture without harming others." Roy was speaking at a one-day workshop for 345 children at the Academy Primary School in Saintfield, Co. Down - a small picturesque village SE of Belfast. Roy and his colleagues introduced some of the children to the practice of rhythm and taught them part of a piece of music which they played to the entire school later on. To reinforce the point, the group played three versions of one tune - first as an Irish "slow air" titled "Young Boy," then as a variation which became an Orange "marching tune," and finally as a hauntingly beautiful Irish reel, called "Swallow's Tail." Roy summed it up, "This is basically the same music, but it shows how in the end we all march to the same tune." The children, and their teachers, loved it. The principal, Stephen MOORE commented, "This is very much a cross-community school, and it is good for our pupils to hear the different forms of music expressed in this way." Roy ARBUCKLE's early musical experience was with local showbands. He developed an interest in traditional Irish music, and played with such well-known groups as "Chaff" and "Fiddler's Elbow." After spending eight years in Canada, Roy returned to his native city, and since then has been involved in cross-community projects. They participated in an Irish Festival in New Brunswick, which had the theme "Come Celebrate Orange and Green." A breakthrough came in 1998 when they were invited to take part in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin. They have participated in musical festivals in the USA, Europe and Japan, as well as keynote events including special performances for successive Irish Presidents Mary ROBINSON and Mary McALEESE. More recently they played at the new Odyssey Centre in Belfast, in the presence of President Bill CLINTON, British Premier Tony BLAIR, local Unionist and Nationalist political leads and several thousand cross-community reps. Arbuckle has also spent two weeks with the Kodo Drummers of Japan. Other highlights include a visits in 1999 to the USA as part of a "Both Sides Now" tour that included noted Irish musicians James GALWAY and Phil COULTER. They made a historic appearance at St. Patrick's Cathedral, NY, and on St. Pat's Day performed for President CLINTON at the White House. They have also performed at the Kennedy Center in WA DC. A close-up of a beautiful and colorful Lambeg drum reveals a portrait of King William on horseback; the drum as made by W & J HAMILTON of Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim. It is apparently one of a matched pair which had been used by an Orange Lodge at Finnis, near Dromara, and were around 100 years old. This "great purchase" came from a shop in Belfast's Sandy Row, a well-known Protestant area. Around the same time Roy commissioned a new set of bodhrans from Eamonn MAGUIRE, a craftsman based in Ardoyne, a Catholic part of Belfast. The symbolism is inescapable of the symmetry of instruments acquired from both parts of that troubled city. Talented and enthusiastic members of the band include Stephen MATIER, Belfast, Brendon MONAGHAN, Banbridge, Kevin SHARKEY, Derry and Rory McCARRON, Derry. The group's engagement book is well-filled and their latest CD is called "New Day Dawning." Their music has produced a fascinating blend of sounds and rhythms - Irish reels, jigs and marches, an element of reggae, and traditional Lambeg chants played with a variety of instruments and drums.