The Northern Ireland Branch of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association held their annual ‘Ulster Solos’ competitions today. It was a very well run event, held in Lisnagarvey High School, Lisburn, with competitions for tenor and snare drumming and piping at all levels from chanter to senior. There was also a qualifier for the World Solo Drumming Championship, the following going through to the finals on the big day at…
Congratulations to P/M Douglas Murray and his brother Jim for their ten years at the helm of the Fife Police band. It is a very difficult thing to take a band from nowhere and lead it into Grade 1 – and then start to pick up prizes among the elite. Jim, now in Western Australia, kicked things off and Douglas built on his work to such an extent that the…
I am not sure everyone appreciates how hard it is to produce a piobaireachd to a high professional standard. At last weekend’s Scottish Pipers’ Association contest, there were 22 competitors, all of them first class pipers. Some play in world championship winning bands; others have won major solo awards. Yet of those I heard we really only had four tunes which reached the level described in my opening sentence. There…
The annual junior competition run by the Kintyre Piping Society was held today in the Seafield Hotel, Campbeltown. The picture above shows the main winners and their trophies. Results: Under 15 yrs 2/4 March First Bobby Allen Second Joshua Reilly Third Andrew Renton Under 15 yrs S&R First Bobby Allen Second Joshua Reilly Third Murray O’May Ground of Piobaireachd Under 15 First Matthew McKerral Second Murray O’May Third Andrew Renton…
The annual professional competition run by the Scottish Pipers’ Association was held at the College of Piping in Glasgow today. There was a good entry in all categories. The picture above shows the main winners with their trophies: l to r – John Dew, Gordon McCready and Cameron MacDougall. The young man with the overall trophy and the big grin is Gordon’s son Innes: Results: Piob: 1 Cameron MacDougall, Old…
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