Category: Comment

History: A Second Hand Set of Pipes Spawned Ireland’s Famous Fintan Lalor Pipe Band

Posted on      by      Leave a comment

Over the last year or so I have completed short history projects on famous Northern Ireland bands such as Ballycoan, St Patrick’s Donaghmore, Robert Armstrong Memorial and the Pipes and Drums of the RUC. We have mentioned the various exploits of another band from the island of Ireland, the Fintan Lalor band in Piping Press over the months and years, but this series will be the first pulling together of…

More History: A Second Hand Set of Pipes Spawned Ireland’s Famous Fintan Lalor Pipe Band

International Piper Lives Again as Part of Piping Centre Project/ Ontario Composing Contest

Posted on      by      1 Comment

Following the success of its crowdfunding project to digitise the back issues of Piping Times and Piping Today magazines, Finlay MacDonald, the National Piping Centre’s Director of Piping, has announced a new target to allow them to add Captain John MacLellan’s magazine the ‘International Piper’ to the endeavour. The new aim is to garner £33,500. The NPC have already raised £31,000 in just two weeks. Finlay said: ‘The generosity of…

More International Piper Lives Again as Part of Piping Centre Project/ Ontario Composing Contest

Ten Years After: The World Pipe Band Championhips of 2011 – Part 3

Posted on      by      1 Comment

We conclude our editor’s reports from the Worlds in 2011 with a detailed review of the Grade 1 Medley and some general thoughts on the competition…. Tunes are back. This was the first, most noticeable feature of the medley competition. For many, certainly the top two in this discipline, out were the old hand-knitted variety of ‘composition’ and in were the Hen’s March and Train Journey North and other traditional…

More Ten Years After: The World Pipe Band Championhips of 2011 – Part 3

Archie Kenneth, the Competition in His Name and More on the Man Himself

Posted on      by      Leave a comment

The competition for the prestigious Archie Kenneth Quaich will be held under the auspices of the Piobaireachd Society’s Music Committee this coming Saturday, May 22, at 9am BST (GMT+1). All members are welcome to tune in to the broadcast on Zoom. It will run throughout the day with the pipers playing ‘live’ from their chosen venue. There are 23 entrants and each has submitted two tunes. The judges, Society members Iain Speirs and…

More Archie Kenneth, the Competition in His Name and More on the Man Himself

Ten Years After: The World Pipe Band Championship of 2011, Part 2

Posted on      by      1 Comment

We take another look at the Worlds held at Glasgow Green in August 2011 with photographs and excerpts from reports from our Editor Robert Wallace. Here he concentrates on the Grade 1 March Strathspey and Reel. Gradually you came to the realisation that there was not one person present who did not believe they were listening to the 2011 World Pipe Band Champions. For Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band, from…

More Ten Years After: The World Pipe Band Championship of 2011, Part 2