Luss Games Results

The weather was bright and dry in the morning for the Piobaireachd and hard Luss drizzle in the afternoon. Twelve competed. Piobaireachd 1st Ben Duncan (MacDougall’s Gathering) 2nd Craig Martin 3rd Mael Sicard Cras (Lament for the Iolaire) Judges: Tom Speirs, Neil Mulvie March (prizes for top three only) 1st Ben Duncan 2nd Daniel McDermott 3rd Alan Russell 4th Craig Martin 5th Caitlin MacDonald 6th Bruce MacDonald Judges: Ronnie McShannon,…

Thornton Highland Gathering Information (Updated)

Organisers have asked us to point out that solo piping entries for this well-run little games in Fife can be made on the field tomorrow (July 1) until 11 am. Venue is Memorial Park, Thornton. There are events for senior and junior pipers. Judges for the solo piping are E Anderson and A Frater. Thornton had also planned to stage a pipe band and drum major contest with  Open, Grade 2, Grade…

Historic Video Recording of Donald MacPherson Saved For Posterity

An important, good quality video of a recital given by the late Donald MacPherson has been saved from the waste bin thanks to the inquisitiveness and diligence of an Irish piper.  The recital was given by Donald in the Crookhaven Hotel in County Cork in 1990. Introduced by local stalwart Noel O’Mahony, Donald gives a brilliant demonstration of ceol beag and ceol mor. His mastery of the instrument and its…

Piobaireachd Can Touch the Heart of Every Piper

There we were one evening last week well-fed with drams encouraging loquacity among our most reticent. As always the atmosphere at the New England Pipe and Drum Academy was warm and friendly. The conversation turned to ceol mor. The first question, how best to describe this music – what name should we use. In Gaelic ‘ceol mor’, great music, was more accurate, ‘piobaireachd’ simply translating as ‘piping’. This was fine…

PP Ed’s Blog: Pipe Band Majors/ Ross & Cromarty P&D/ Small Highland Games

The debate over moving the European Pipe Band Championships to Forres will continue, particularly among bands who just can’t afford to journey up to the Moray Coast. Down the grades this is particularly inconvenient for Irish bands, few of whom, outwith Grade 1, attend. The reverse holds true for the UK Championships in Belfast with many Scottish bands electing to stay at home for that one. It all points to…