Yesterday’s story about the Fintan Lalor and Robert Armstrong Pipe Bands has proved popular and generated quite a bit of response including an email and a set of pictures from Mr David McFall.
David writes: ‘Recently my mum was rummaging through old memorabilia and came across photos of the Robert Armstrong Memorial Pipe Band which my grandfather was a member. I was just browsing to see if anything still existed about the band and came across the Piping Press website. If you want I could send you them. I have one of them [the Armstrong] on stage. Also the one that you have at the heading and some other pipe bands that he was in.’
The pictures are reproduced below David and thanks for sending them in. If any reader can help us identify the personnel we’d be grateful. Please reply to pipingpress@gmail.com . To identify the pictures referred to please use the number given to each.
We also need some help with the main picture above. It is possibly from the 1950s and may be Belfast or Dublin, though given the saffron kilts more probably the latter. Is this a police or military band?
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top photo. looks like an old photo of great victoria street belfast
In photo 2 Robert Armstrong Memorial Pipe Band
top row 4th from the left is Piper Ces Scott now deceased
who moved to Australia and became Pipe Major of the Coastal Scottish Pipe Band of Western Australia established 1898
Yes, Cecil also played in Saintfield Pipe Band before emigrating with his wife Maureen.
The Red Hand Pipe Band was based in Belfast in the 1950s and they played the Brian Boru pipes (keyed chanters).I know of a Billy Roleston who played with them and later supplied Brian boru pipes and chanters up to around 2010 when he died. I have forgotten the pipe majors name. There are only 6 such pipe bands left in the world -all in Northern Ireland
I think the Pipe Major was called Mark Carroll [that would be him on the left hand side] and the Pipe Sergeant on the right hand side looks like Billy Roleston. I was quite friendly with Billy Roleston [who gave me what little information I know] who moved the Newcastle County Down and later Annalong further along the coast. I am obviously guessing here but this photo might be of the band when they won the Style & Appearance at the Dr. Wright Memorial Scotch Night in Newtownards – late 1950’s early 1960’s.
I would very much appreciate a copy of this Red Hand photo if that was at all possible.