The Drogheda Brass Band was formed in 1886 as the Colonel Leonard Fife and Drum Band, named after a local man who was a colonel in the Union Army in the American Civil War and became involved in the Fenian movement. In the early 1900s the band became the Drogheda Brass and Reed Band until 1964 when the present all-brass format was adopted and they became the Drogheda Brass Band. The band has served the town for almost 130 continuous years and has performed at all the major civic occasions in the town during that time. These include visits of leaders of our independence movement, prominent politicians, Presidents of Ireland, Cardinals and other leading churchmen, with a particularly memorable performance for Pope and other leading churchmen, with a particularly memorable performance for Pope John Paul II when he visited Drogheda in 1979.