Category: History

A Look Back at the Northern Meeting 1978

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We are grateful to the reader who forwarded the complete programme from Inverness 1978. We are sure it will jog the memories of all the pipers who were there. Prizes of note include the Gold Medal going to Dr Bill Wotherspoon (Lament for Patrick Og MacCrimmon), the Clasp going to John MacDougall (MacLean’s March) and the Former Winners going to P/M Angus MacDonald. John was looking to complete the ‘big…

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UKs Return to Northern Ireland/ Jimmy McIntosh MBE Workshop Weekend

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The United Kingdom Pipe Band Championships will be held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Saturday, 13 June 2026. Securing the fifth major is a significant success for the RSPBA and its Chief Executive Colin Mulhearn and his team. They had come under criticism for not fulfilling the statutory number of championships in 2025, and until now only four had been announced for 2026. These are: British Championships, Ingliston, May 30;…

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CLASP Online Winners/ Recognition for Cameron

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CLASP, the Competition League for Amateur Solo Pipers, runs three ‘live online’ competitions each year, writes Margaret Houlihan. This format was introduced in Covid times, but continues to grow in popularity attracting amateur adult pipers to compete ‘live’ from the comfort of their own home and from anywhere in the world. Once the live video performance is captured, these are emailed to the judges for consideration. This gives the judge a visual…

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Editor’s Notebook: Jamie Troy/ Ian’s Funeral/ Talk Piob/ Solo Judges/ Letter

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A nice, well-deserved comment from reader Bruce Young about the late Jamie Troy: ‘I remember maybe 15 years ago ordering reeds. I was sent a dozen and told to pick what I liked and return the rest with a cheque. I kept them all and still have a couple hidden away. The piping community is the best, and he was the best of the best.’ I couldn’t agree more Bruce….

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History: The Rise of Inveraray Pipe Band, Part 2

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The following is the second instalment from an article in the Pipe Band Magazine of July 2009. Headlined: ‘Seventy Years On and the Bells of Inveraray Herald Town’s New Band’, it charts the resurrection of a band first founded in the 1890s. Now they are the current World Champions and P/M Liddell has four such titles to his name….. The band’s Pipe Major, Stuart Liddell, said, ‘I always had a…

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