Tribute Band to Star at Saturday’s All Ireland Championships

Some time ago an idea was hatched by a few people who had competed during the 1970s to acknowledge the introduction of the Medley format for the World Pipe Band Championships. Prior to Aberdeen 1970 all World Championships had been conducted within the MSR format, with one pipe and one drum adjudicator on duty. The new Medley format required the use of a third adjudicator for the new discipline of…

US Clan Donald Contest/ CLASP Results

Major Bruce W Macdonald, Chairman of the Clan Donald Trust for the Gaelic Performing Arts, Charleston, South Carolina, USA: ‘I am pleased to advise that the videos from the fifth annual Scottish Performing Arts Classic in Charleston, South Carolina, are now available for viewing on the Robert Burns Society of Charleston’s website.’  Four invited pipers each play a piobaireachd. They were Nick Hudson, Phantom Piper of the Corrieyairick, Finlay Johnston,…

Scots Guards KO Result/ Strathmore Games Results

The final of the Scots Guards Knock Out was won by Brodie Watson-Massey, Edinburgh. A good crowd assembled in the SG Club Haymarket, Edinburgh, yesterday afternoon (June 8th) to hear the competition. Brodie is pictured above receiving his trophy from P/M Ian McLellan BEM, a regular attender at the SG KO. Brodie got the shout over Cameron May, Dillarburn, in one semi final. Cameron was last year’s winner. In the…

Review: The Lark in The Evening, a Concert by St Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band

Many people will be surprised to know that St Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band has never played a high profile concert in their home city. Sure, there have been some low-key performances over the years, but nothing as significant as this. The announcement of ‘The Lark in The Evening’ was therefore a very welcome development and sold out quickly. The 400-seater Lark Theatre in the North County Dublin town of Balbriggan…

‘Life, Times and Music of John Macdonald, Inverness’, by John H Shone – A Review

The name of John Macdonald, Inverness, must be one of the best known and illustrious in piping history. However, until now, there has not been a single account of his life and his influence on the development of piping, and piobaireachd in particular, during a critical period towards the end of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. By Alan Forbes John Shone has put that right in his…