THE members of Looe-based folk band The Changing Room have arrived back from the Pan Celtic Festival held in the city of Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with a clean sweep for Cornwall in all the competitions.

The international festival celebrates the cultural links between the Celtic nations of Cornwall, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany and the Isle of Man through music.

The Changing Room won the opportunity to represent the county when the band competed in the national finals in Redruth, hosted by the Cornish Language Partnership and the Cornwall branch of the Pan Celtic Committee.

Led by Tanya Brittain and Sam Kelly, the group won the categories of Best Traditional Band and Best New Song in Traditional Style, as well as winning the International Pan Celtic Song Contest.

The winning song, 'Hal-an-Tow', was written by Tanya and Sam and was performed in Cornish. Tanya penned 'Row Boys Row', a song again sung in Cornish, which won the traditional style class.

The band released their Cornish language EP, 'Splann', ahead of their trip to Ireland and their debut album, 'Behind the Lace', is due for release on May 4.

Said Sam: 'We'd like to thank everyone involved in the organisation of the Pan Celtic Festival for delivering such a fantastic event, with special thanks to our

lyric translator, Dr Ken George.'

For their prizes, The Changing Room received engraved Derry crystal plaques and almost 2,000 Euros in cash.