News 2001
Veteran Drumming Evening
The Veteran Drumming evening took place on Friday 30th November in the Abbey Lodge Hotel, Downpatrick. It proved, as always to be a very enjoyable event. There were quite a few entries in three different groups, all the entrants being over 40 and under 100, although over 100s could still have entered. For full results click here.
Ulster Championships Back in Belfast
The
Ulster Championships were held on Saturday 18th August in Ormeau Park,
Belfast. There was a large entry of bands and a good turnout of spectators.
A special congratulations goes to the Upper Crossgare Bass Section, which took
the honours in Grade 2, the band finishing a hard done by third, an also to our
Drum Major, Kathy Megarry, who is now Ulster Champion. The contest was the
final contest of the season in Northern Ireland, so the Champion of Champions
winners were also announced. For full results click here.
Drum Major Kathy Megarry - Ulster Champion
World Championships in Glasgow Green
The Worlds was held on 11th August in Glasgow Green. 208 bands were entered in 8 grades. The competition was marred slightly by some inclement weather and some would say even worse judging. Simon Fraser University from Canada lifted the title for the fourth time. Full results as always on our results page.
Massive Crowds at the North West
There
was an excellent turnout of bands and spectators at the North West Championships
on Saturday 4th August. With only a week to go to the Worlds the bands were in
fine tune and the large spectators were very appreciative of the performances of
the day. For full results click here.
Poor Attendance at Bangor due to Scottish Clash
The North Down Championships was
held on 28th July, the same day as the Scottish Championships in Dumbarton.
Many of the top bands from each grade in Northern Ireland were at the Scottish,
which meant the Bangor contest, normally one of the biggest, was a relatively
small affair. Well done to Jim and the lads who won the best bass section
prize for Grade 2 in Bangor. For results of both contests check our Results
page.
Field Marshal Take The All Ireland Championships
The All Ireland was held in
Omagh on the 7th July. Large
crowds of spectators turned out for what was an excellent days piping and
drumming. There was a lot of
interest in Scottish Power who failed to retain their title from last year.
For full results of the days performances click here.
Perfect
Setting For The Heart O’ Down Championships
The Heart O’ Down
Championships was held on 30th June in Newcastle.
The weather held up well and was very warm from time to time.
A good crowd of spectators turned out to witness a good days piping and
drumming with two Grade 1 bands competing.
Congratulations again this week to the Upper Crossgare Bass Section, who
took the honours in Grade 2, the band finishing in fourth place.
For the full results, click here.
Good
Day at European Championships
Northern Ireland bands took a
clean sweep at the European Championships in Ayr on the 23rd June.
At last Field Marshal Montgomery receive the honour they are long
overdue, back at the top of Grade 1, also winning the drumming.
Congratulations also go to Ravara, Tullylagan, Syerla, Bro. Matt Boyd
Memorial and Gortaclare who were winners in grades 2, 3A, 3B, 4A and 4B
respectively. For the full results,
click here.
Large Crowds at Co. Down Championships
An excellent days piping was had
by all in Moira on 16th June. There
was a large entry of bands in each grade including Grade 1 where the Field
Marshal Montgomery were clear winners, also taking the prize for best Drum
Corps. Ballycoan had a terrific day
piping Ravara to take first in Grade 2 and also finishing second in Grade 1.
A special congratulation goes this week to the Upper Crossgare Drum Corps
who took the honours in Grade 2, the band finishing in third place.
For the full results of the Co. Down Championships click here.
North Winds Hit Ahoghill
The weather hit the Ahoghill
contest hard on 2nd June. Fifty-one
bands turned out on a day that was like mid October.
However, even the severe north winds could not keep the piping and
drumming fanatics away. The bands and Drum Majors put on a great display and kept the
spectators well entertained. One
disappointment for the organisers was that only one Grade 1 band turned up,
Field Marshal Montgomery, so there was no Grade 1 contest, but FMM still played
and brought the days piping to a close in fine style. A special congratulation goes this week to the Upper
Crossgare Bass Section who took the honours in Grade 2, the band finishing in
third place. For the full results
of the Co. Antrim Championships click here.
Glorious Day For Piping in the Lakeland County
The Co. Fermanagh Championships
were held on Saturday 26th May in the County town of Enniskillen.
Although there were no Grade 1 bands present the standard of piping and
drumming was exceptional. Congratulations
must go to the local Drum Major, David Brownlee from Derryclavin Pipe Band, who
won the Senior Drum Majors Section. For
the full results of the bands click here.
Mid
Ulster Contest Cancelled
To date the Mid Ulster Championships, which was originally due to be held at Cookstown High School has been cancelled due to Foot and Mouth disease. The Mid Ulster section was looking into the possibility of another venue, but as yet there has been no word of the contest being back on.
British Championships
The British Championships was held in Banbridge on 19th May. Northern Ireland bands excelled in the competition and took pride of place in every grade except Grade 1, where the Field Marshal were narrowly beaten on Ensemble Preference by Shotts, and the Juvenile Grade which had no entries from N. Ireland. Some would say that FMM were hard done by, and the general feelings from those in the park were that they should have been clear winners, but who are we to argue. For the full list of results for the British Chapionships, click here. Congratulations to Ravara, Howard Memorial, Syerla, Finvoy, Aughintober and Monkstown Mossley Novice Juvenile Band who all did Northern Ireland proud by winning their respective grades.
Field
Marshal in a League of Their Own
At the Malahide contest on the 12th May, the Field Marshal Montgomery band was out of this world. The band fielded 17 pipers for their first contest of the season. They won the event comfortably with St Lawrence O’Toole taking second place and Ballycoan in third. Things are looking good for the lads at FMM, so lets hope them can come up tops at the British Championships. Click here for full list of results from the Malahide contest.
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