Northern Ireland Pipe Bands Gearing Up for Post Covid Comeback

The pipe band scene in Northern Ireland is making strides to get going again with bands resuming practices and plans being put in place by the RSPBA NI Branch for the season ahead. The RSPBA NI Branch Meeting took place on Saturday 29th January 2022 via Zoom and a draft contest programme was tabled. At the time only the Mid Ulster (Cookstown) and the Ulster (Ballymena) competitions were confirmed however…

Be a Better Piper: Dre and Edre and the Crunluath

Reader Paul Eschenburg in Plymouth, Michigan: ‘A question from the trenches…I have always played the dre movement as instructed by my tutor. ‘When I mentioned to him that Jimmy McIntosh espouses the pre-1895 version as described in his ‘Ceol Mor in the Balmoral Tradition’, page 29, I was just told ‘we are not going to do it that way’. By Robert Wallace ‘Jimmy is very adamant regarding this movement as…

Pipes for Aberdeen Pupils/ Lochaber Juniors Contest Entry

Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust: Aberdeenshire pupils are on the road to a life-time of piping success, thanks to an award of new, on loan pipes. Fifteen pupils at Meldrum Academy and Rayne North Primary will benefit from the award. Pictured are some of the pupils at Meldrum Academy with their new pipes, alongside their piping tutor Andrew Gray.  Linda Moggach, Faculty Head of Performing Arts at Meldrum Academy…

Senior Piper Claims Age Discrimination After Solo Contest Upholds Rule on Mandatory Jig Entry

Piper Brian Mulhearn is claiming he has technically been barred from taking part in next month’s Duncan Johnstone Memorial competition on grounds of his age. Brian (69) is pictured above. He says he only wants to enter the Piobaireachd section. The Duncan Johnstone has a rule that all competitors must play in the Jig events too. This rule was instituted several years ago to ensure pipers stuck around for the…

Editor’s Notebook: Spotlight on London/ Ross of the Guards/ Sunbelt Contest/ Lachie Robertson

London’s piping heritage will come under focus this evening in the fourth of the Piobaireachd Society’s season of ‘Talk Piobaireachd’ sessions. In the hot seat will be the Society’s Treasurer Roddy Livingstone. The ‘first city of the Empire’ has always had a prominent role to play in pipng too. Consider the regimental bands of the Guards, the Queen’s Piper, Campbells at nearby Cambridge, Dr MacPhail, the Bratach Gorm, Les Cowell…