The 2026 Ulster Adult Solo Championship took place at Cookstown High School on Saturday 18th April. There was a large entry from all over Ireland and indeed a few from England and Scotland. Top of the list was Rathfriland’s James Frazer whose wins in the MSR and Piobaireachd, together with a second place in the Hornpipe and Jig, made him Ulster Adult Piping Champion. Alex Buchanan became Ulster Adult Drumming…
Very large entries in all Senior and Junior Grades. The competition was held in the Oban High School on Saturday, May 2. Judges reported a high standard in both P/A events. Of the MSR Barry Donaldson commented: ‘The prizewinners all played extremely well. There was very little between them. The pipes and fingers were impressive and those who failed to make the list generally had issues with pulsing and phrase…
I found some of the responses to the worries over the numbers of bands in Grade 1 disappointing but not untypical of grassroots attitudes in the pipe band world. Something’s wrong, therefore criticise those who offer solutions whilst offering none yourself. Strange, but not uncommon. We met the same grumblers when we proposed an open semi circle instead of the circle arrangement for Grade 1. Sadly the grumblers have prevailed….
The RSPBA Adjudicator Panel has announced the following piping, drumming and ensemble judging allocations for the forthcoming pipe band championship season. These allocations may be altered as required due to unforeseen circumstances: Entries have now closed for the British and UK Championships. Deadlines for the others are May 13 (Scottish), June 10 (Europeans), July 1 (Worlds). Atlantic CanadaOn Saturday, April 25th, we had the Atlantic Canada Piobaireachd Challenge which took…
By Robert Wallace This article concerns the crunluath motif written in the Piobaireachd Society’s collection, before the 2019-2025 revision, as: What follows I first wrote about 22 years ago. I raised it again at the at the recent Piobaireachd Society Judges Seminar when discussing the tune, the Pride of Barra. The timing of this motif is important given that it features not only in the Pride of Barra – set…
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