Way to Go! Shane Stapleton of Deer Park
Shane Stapleton, a sophomore at Deer Park High School, right, is pictured here with his brother Thomas, a bagpiper; his sister Fiona, who plays tenor drum; and his father, Viv. Credit: The Stapleton family
A Deer Park High School sophomore with a passion for percussion has hammered out first-place victories in several pipe and drum band competitions.
Shane Stapleton, 15, took top honors in the Grade Three skill level in five local and national contests — including the 2016 Winter Storm in Kansas City, the 2016 Nassau County AOH Feis and Irish Festival and the 2016 Hudson Valley Celtic Festival. He was eligible to compete based upon his ranking in the Eastern U.S. Pipe Band Association.
“It feels great. I really don’t know how to explain it,” Stapleton said of his drumming success. “When I go up on stage, I don’t feel scared at all.”
He learned to drum at age 6 from his father, Viv Stapleton, a professional snare drummer from Dublin.
“Shane is an unbelievable kid and always has a smile on his face,” said Bradley Murphy, the school district’s curriculum associate for fine and performing arts. “Deer Park is very proud to be represented . . . by this extremely motivated student.”
Stapleton is a member of his school’s marching band and symphonic band, as well as the golf team. He also is a side drummer with Roisin Dubh Pipe Band in East Islip and a basketball coach at Saints Cyril and Methodius Roman Catholic Church in Deer Park.
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
