6th July 2019
The O’Toole's took the 2019 All-Ireland Championship in the closest of ways, winning both the Medley and MSR events by ensemble preference.
Congratulations to all on some great performances on the day..........scroll down to listen to the winning MSR and Medley.
MSR
1st St. Laurence O’Toole (1,2,2,1) (ens.pref.)
2nd Field Marshal Montgomery (2,1,1,2)
3rd Police Service of Northern Ireland (3,3,3,3)
Judges: Tom Brown and Bill Garrett (Piping)
Paul Turner (Drumming)
Jim Campbell (Ensemble)
Medley
1st St. Laurence O’Toole (2,2,1,1) (ens.pref.)
2nd Field Marshal Montgomery (1,1,2,2)
3rd Police Service of Northern Ireland (3,3,3,3)
Judges: John Moles and Alan Ronaldson (Piping)
Sandy Steele (Drumming)
Ciaran Mordaunt (Ensemble)
29th June 2019
Results for the Grade 1 championship, held at Bught Park,Inverness. Conditions took a nosedive about fifteen minutes before we were due into the final tuning arena and consequently we played in probably the worst of the days weather - soaked to the skin !!
Grade 1 (MSR, 12 competed)
1st Inveraray & District (2,3,1,1)
2nd Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Celedonina (3,2,2,5)
3rd Field Marshal Montgomery (1,1,11,2)
4th ScottishPower (4,4,5,3)
5th St. Laurence O’Toole (5,5,3,6)
6th Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (6,6,4,7)
Drumming: Inveraray & District
Judges: Donald MacPhee and Tony Sloane (Piping)
Stuart Coils (Drumming)
Jennifer Hutcheon (Ensemble)
Full summaries for all grades can be found on the RSPBA website - click here
Listen to the O'Toole's performance below.......
15th June 2019
The UK Championship was won by St. Laurence O’Toole, taking the second major in the RSPBA’s five-championship season.
The band’s second major win was achieved in convincing and rare straight-firsts style.
Due to the horrendous weather throughout the day, the march past was cancelled and the awards ceremony was reduced to only centre bands, with only pipe-majors and lead-drummers participating in the prize-giving.
Congratulations to Alen & Stephen and all the band on a great day's work.
Grade 1 (Medley, 12 competed)
1st St. Laurence O’Toole (1,1,1,1)
2nd Field Marshal Montgomery (2,2,2,3)
3rd Inveraray & District (4,3,3,4)
4th ScottishPower (5,5,5,2)
5th Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate (3,4,7,5)
6th Police Scotland Fife (6,6,6,6)
Best Drum Corp : St. Laurence O’Toole
Judges: Harry Stevenson and Tom Brown (Piping)
Ciaran Mordaunt (Drumming)
Jim Baxter (Ensemble)
Full summaries for all grades can be found on the RSPBA website - click here
Scroll down for a listen to the O'Toole's winning medley.
18th May 2019
Results from the first major of the season at St.James' Playing Fields,Paisley, on what turned out to be a cool and intermittently rainy day.
Full breakdowns for all grade can be found on the RSPBA website - click here
Scroll down to listen to the band 's very impressive performance.
Grade 1 (MSR, 12 competed)
1st St. Laurence O’Toole (2,2,1,2)
2nd ScottishPower (1,1,3,3)
3rd Inveraray & District (5,4,2,1)
4th Peoples Ford-Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (3,3,4,5)
5th Field Marshal Montgomery (4,5,7,4)
6th Police Scotland Fife (6,9,5,7)
Drumming: St. Laurence O’Toole
Judges: Maurice Rhodes, Bob Worrall (piping); Paul Brown (drumming); Cameron Edgar (ensemble)
Read the Pipes|Drums story here
Read the Pipingpress.com review of the Grade One competition here
The bands latest live recording, Turas Ceoil : Live in Glasgow 2018 is now available direct from the band.
Performed to a sellout crowd of over 2,100 people last August, the show has received many rave reviews and the CD captures the band the way it should be heard - live.
The CD retails at €15.00 euro........and this includes worldwide shipping.
Please click the button below to add it to your cart.
The tune "Little Bird" by Tim Edey..........and if you would like to hear more, then grab the CD from the link above.
August 18th 2018
The O'Toole's took third place overall at the World's with Stephen Creighton's drum corp taking their fifth World Drumming Championship and also the REPBA Champion of Champions Drumming title.
Field Marshal Montgomery were declared 2018 World Pipe Band Champions after a day of overcast and sometimes rainy conditions at Glasgow Green against 11 other finalists in the Grade 1 competition - it was tyheir first major championship win of the 2018 season and the twelfth World Championship title for the band.
The stands at the main arena were never completely full for the Grade 1 events, and often as much as half empty and only a handful of seats were occupied for the Grade 2 Final.
The final prizes in Grade 1 were announced after 8:30 pm.
Full summaries for all grade can be found here - WPBC 2018 SUMMARIES
Grade 1
Overall
1st Field Marshal Montgomery
2nd Inveraray & District
3rd St. Laurence O’Toole
4th Scottish Power
5th Simon Fraser University
6th Police Scotland Fife
Drumming : St. Laurence O’Toole
The St.Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band perform their March,Strathspey and Reel at World Pipe Band Championships 2018 @ Glasgow Green.
The tunes played are The Links of Forth, Blair Drummond and The Smith of Chilliechassie
The St.Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band perform their Medley selection at World Pipe Band Championships 2018 @ Glasgow Green.
The tunes played are :
The Donegal Lass
Donald Sutherland
Wiseman's Exercise
Jimmy Rollo
Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore
Paddy be Easy
The Sheepwife
August 16th 2018
This article is reproduced from the excellent pipingpress.com website which is run by Rab Wallace and is a great resource for all the latest news and views from the piping world.
"Turas Ceoil - Resume" : St.Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band at the Peak of their Powers
I think I know after nearly three hours of listening to them at close quarters what makes St Laurence O’Toole the band they are, writes the Editor. There is a spine of excellence running from the pipe major through their heartbeat, bass drummer John Dunne, to the admirable Creighton, D/Sgt. Stephen of that ilk. Pipe Major Alen Tully has a quiet command about him and Stephen homes in on every eyebrow fluctuation. John is just John, probably the best bass of the lot. Again, a keen eye on the P/M.
Underpinning all of this is the band’s sound. Accurate to a fault, full, projecting, thrilling. You run out of superlatives. I don’t think there was a waver at all during last night’s show and when an outside tenor started to misbehave out came the drone cork to do the necessary.
This was promoter Glasgow Skye’s 24th Worlds Week concert and a major success for them and their main organiser Kurt Mackintosh. A great way for the Skye to celebrate their 50th Anniversary.
The evening began with a short film and voiceover restating the band’s ethos of excellence in performance, hard work, friendship. To that end there were clips of them enjoying themselves after contests. These really summed up what SLOT are all about. Yet for all their mastery and success (they are the current UK and Scottish Champions) the band struggles for proper recognition in its homeland. I remember Alen’s father, former P/M Terry, telling me in 2010 when they last won the Worlds that they hadn’t even been given a civic reception by Dublin’s mayor. Well we appreciate them. And at last night’s finale 2,000 plus people got to their feet to underline just that.
The concert was spilt into four quarters emphasising the band’s musical journey, a journey which paid homage to their founders, their history, their country’s rich musical store and their emergence at the top of the pile in the pipe band world.
We were treated to music from every genre. It was delivered on stage in two sections of an hour each. There was nary a slip or dropped gracenote the whole time. I was only a few feet away from the fingers, so trust me. This band is full of brilliant pipers – 22 played. There ain’t no weak link. They exude a calm that comes from innate ability and serious endeavour. Some of them are very young. SLOT are future-proofed.
And as long as they have Steven Creighton driving them on they will be at the top of Grade 1 years without number. Not since watching the great Alex Duthart up close have I seen a percussionist living his music the way SLOT’s leading tip does. He’s there with the pipers on every nuance, every phrase ending, lifting the mono-dynamic of the pipes to another musical level. Wisely Stephen had positioned his corps behind a wall of perspex sound baffles and this killed the drum corps curse of Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, a curse which has taken the shine off many an otherwise enjoyable evening on the biggest night of Worlds Week. More than anything Stephen enjoys what he is doing and his beaming countenance was a feature of the concert.
He makes the perfect team with his Pipe Major, the quiet spoken Alen, a gifted piper in his own right. Another star of the evening was the compère, the humourously self-effacing Eric Stein from New York. Eric told a story of when visiting Alen when he was a boy of seven the youngster boasted of now knowing twenty pipe tunes. Asked to play one and expecting the Minstrel Boy the prodigy produced all six parts of Highland Wedding.
Everyone who left the auditorium last night was uplifted by St Laurence O’Toole’s music and the understated brilliance of its delivery. It is no surprise their shows are so popular and I am sure the recordings of Turas Ceoil will prove likewise.
July 28th 2018
The O'Toole's won their second major title of the 2018 season in what could only be described as challenging conditions, with sun and alternating showers throughout the day............topped off with a a gale force wind as you entered the Grade One arena !
The band drew their number one MSR - Links of Forth, Blair Drummond and The Smith of Chilliechassie - emerging with a first and second in piping, a first in drumming and a fourth in ensemble which was enough to take the title overall by one point from Inverary & District.
Congratulations to Stephen and his corp on another major championship drumming title too.
Grade 1 (MSR, 15 competed)
1st St. Laurence O’Toole (1,2,1,4)
2nd Inveraray & District (2,1,4,2)
3rd Field Marshal Montgomery (3,4,2,3)
4th ScottishPower (7,3,3,1)
5th Police Scotland Fife (6,6,5,6)
6th Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (4,5,11,9)
Judges:
Jim Wark and Ronnie McShannon (Piping)
Sandy Steele (Drumming)
Paul Turner (Ensemble)
Full summaries can be found here - Scottish Championships 2018 Results
Take a listen to the band's winning performance below........
July 7th 2018
The 73rd All Ireland Pipe Band Championship was close in the two-band Grade 1 event, but ultimately Field Marshal Montgomery of Belfast took its 25th title, based on lowest total ranking points across the two events.
FMM won the Medley event with St.Laurence O’Toole taking the MSR after a tie was broken by David Brown’s ensemble mark.
The competition alternates venues each year between Ireland and Northern Ireland, with the Irish Pipe Band Association and the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association Northern Ireland Branch hosting, respectively.
Medley
1st Field Marshal Montgomery (1,1,1,2)
2nd St. Laurence O’Toole (2,2,2,1)
Judges: Jim Semple, Colin Moffett (piping); Ciaran Mordaunt (drumming); Tony Sloan (ensemble)
MSR
1st St. Laurence O’Toole (2,2,1,1) (ens.pref.)
2nd Field Marshal Montgomery (1,1,2,2)
Judges: John Wilson, Tim Farrelly (piping); Jim Baxter (drumming); David Brown (ensemble)
Take a listen below to the band's medley performace on the day ..........
June 30th 2018
Inveraray & District won the third major competition of the RSPBA season, the European Championships, held again in the north of Scotland at Forres, near Inverness.
Weather was sunny and warm, and the multi-beer-tent verdant setting was its usual welcoming and friendly atmosphere, making it one of the most popular venues in the RSPBA season.
The Grade 1 prizes were announced around 7:15.
There were 15 in the Grade 1 event, but the Grade 2 competition was one of the smallest in decades, with only nine bands competing.
Only two weeks after the UK Championships at Belfast, several bands from Northern Ireland and Ireland elected to give the European a miss likely due to travel and accommodation costs.
With the first major win of the 2018 season for the 2017 World Champion Inveraray & District, the contest marked the third different band to win a major championship this year,
following the success of ScottishPower at the British Championships and St. Laurence O’Toole at the United Kingdom Championships.
Grade 1 (Medley, 15 competed)
1st Inveraray & District (3,1,2,1)
2nd Field Marshal Montgomery (1,3,1,3)
3rd Scottish Power (2,2,4,4)
4th St. Laurence O’Toole (4,4,3,2)
5th Police Scotland Fife (6,7,5,5)
6th Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (7,6,6,6)
Judges: John Moles, Alvis Kerr (Piping)
Alex Dudgeon (Drumming)
Jim Campbell (Ensemble)
Full results for all grades can be found here - EUROPEAN PIPE BAND CHAMPIONSHIP SUMMARIES
Take a listen to the SLOT performance below - the band drew their Rainbow Medley selection.
June 16th 2018
St. Laurence O’Toole walked off winners of the 2018 United Kingdom Championships at Stormont, the second RSPBA major competition of the season.
This is the first major win for the band since the European Championships in 2016.
Just for reference, in the video of the band's performance below, the announcer left the microphone turned on - which resulted in the echo you can hear as we were marching into the circle .
Not ideal.....and the guys (particularly the drummers) did extremely well to hold it together.
Grade 1 (MSR, 16 competed)
1st St. Laurence O’Toole (1,2,1,3)
2nd Inveraray & District (ens.pref.) (3,3,2,1)
3rd Field Marshal Montgomery (2,1,4,2)
4th ScottishPower (5,6,3,4)
5th Police Scotland Fife (4,5,5,5)
6th Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (6,4,7,9)
Judges: William Garrett, Alan Ronaldson (piping); Gordon Craig (drumming); Peter Snaddon (ensemble)
May 19th 2018
Results from the first major of the season at St.James' Playing Fields,Paisley on what turned out to be a scorcher of a day.
Scroll down to listen to the band 's very impressive performance.
Grade 1 (Medley, 14 competed)
1st ScottishPower (ens.pref.) (3,1,2,1)
2nd Inveraray & District (2,2,1,2)
3rd Field Marshal Montgomery (1,4,5,6)
4th St. Laurence O’Toole (5,7,3,5)
5th Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (6,8,6,3)
6th Police Scotland Fife (8,3,4,8)
Judges:
Peter Hunt, Robert Shaw (piping)
Lee Innes (drumming)
Robert Mathieson (ensemble)
11th / 12th August 2017
Once again,the Grade One competition took place over two days with 20 bands battling it out in the Friday qualifiers for 12 places in the Saturday final.
After the dust had settled,the band to emerge as World Pipe Band Champions for 2017 was.........Inverary & District and congratulations to P/M Stuart Liddell and D/Sgt. Steven McWhirter and all the band on their achievement.
The O'Toole's gave some really strong performances over the two days - with our drummers winning the medley section in the final on Saturday.
With two great runs in the final,we came away in 3rd in the MSR and 2nd in the Medley - giving us 3rd overall.
Sadly,it's now all over for another year.........but we'll see you again in 2018 !!
Grade 1 (MSR)
1 - Inverary & District (2,2,1,1)
2 - Field Marshal Montgomery (1,1,2,2)
3 - St.Laurence O'Toole (6,5,3,4)
4 - Scottish Power (3,4,6,7)
5 - Shotts & Dykehead (4,3,10,5)
6 - Peoples Ford - Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia (5,7,8,3)
Piping Adjudicator 1: John Wilson
Piping Adjudicator 2: Donald MacPhee
Drumming Adjudicator: Alex Dudgeon
Ensemble Adjudicator: Anthony Sloane
Grade 1 (Medley)
1 - Inverary & District (1,3,2,1)
2 - St.Laurence O'Toole (3,4,1,4)
3 - Scottish Power (4,2,6,2)
4 - Field Marshal Montgomery (2,1,5,6)
5 - Simon Fraser University (5,5,3,3)
Piping Adjudicator 1: Thomas Brown
Piping Adjudicator 2: Samuel Young
Drumming Adjudicator: Gregory Dinsdale
Ensemble Adjudicator: Robert Mathieson
Full summaries for all grades can be found on the RSPBA website - click here
Here are some of the band performances from the weekend...........enjoy
29th July 2017
Inveraray & District emerged as overall Scottish Champions,with St.Laurence O'Toole taking the drumming prize.
O'Toole's drew the number two set - beginning with The Donegal Lass - and gave a very credible performance,given the atrocious weather conditions.
The band finished in third position overall.
A big congratulations to Lead Drummer Stephen Creighton and his corp for yet another major championship win
Grade 1 (medley, 14 competed)
1 - Inveraray & District (1,1,3,2)
2 - Field Marshal Montgomery (4,2,2,1)
3 - St. Laurence O’Toole (5,4,1,5)
4 - ScottishPower (2,6,7,3)
5 - Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (3,3,8,8)
6 - Police Scotland Fife (7,5,5,6)
Drumming : St,Laurence O'Toole
Judges:
Gordon Lawrie and Ken Eller (piping)
Gordon Parkes (drumming)
Nat Russell (ensemble)
Full results can be obtained from the RSPBA website - click here for the Grade One summaries.
Have a listen to the performance below........
24th June 2017
The 2017 RSPBA season marched on in the north of Scotland, where Inveraray & District took home the European Championship at the lush Grant Park in generally good weather. The previous two championships, the British and UK, were won by Inveraray & District and Field Marshal Montgomery, respectively. A fifth in drumming essentially destroyed the hopes of Field Marshal Montgomery to win the event, although surpassing Inveraray’s near-perfect rankings from the four judges made winning for any other band extremely unlikely. With a fifth, Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia returned to a championship prize-list for the first time since 2015. vale of Atholl, with new lead-drummer Adrian Hoy, finished second in drumming, the bands highest finish at a major for more than a decade.
Grade 1 (medley, 14 competed)
1 - Inveraray & District (1,2,1,2)
2 - Field Marshal Montgomery (2,1,5,1)
3 - ScottishPower (3,3,6,4)
4 - St. Laurence O’Toole (8,7,3,3)
5 - Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate (5,4,9,5)
6 - Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (4,6,8,7)
Drumming : Inveraray & District
Judges:
Terry Lee and Bob Worrall (piping)
Willie Black (drumming)
Gordon Craig (ensemble)
Full results can be obtained from the RSPBA website - click here for the Grade One summaries.
Have a listen to the performance below.........
10th June 2017
The second major championship of the season was held in the grounds of Stormont Estate,just outside Belfast,in what turned out to be a pleasant day with plenty of sunshine.
The band drew the number two medley set - starting with the Donegal Lass - on the line,and gave a rousing performance of this crowd pleaser.
This performance was to bring the band a third place overall and a return the top three.
Grade 1 (medley, 14 competed)
1 - Field Marshal Montgomery (1,2,1,1)
2 - Inveraray & District (3,1,2,2)
3 - St. Laurence O’Toole (4,4,3,3)
4 - ScottishPower (5,5,7,4)
5 - Police Scotland Fife (7,3,6,5)
6 - Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (2,6,10,7)
Drumming : Field Marshal Montgomery
Judges:
George Wilson, and Jennifer Hutcheon (piping)
Mark Wilson (drumming)
David Brown (ensemble)
Full results can be obtained from the RSPBA website - click here for the Grade One summaries.
Have a listen to the performance below.........
20th May 2017
The first major of the season kicked off in Paisley and was held again at St.James Playing Fields within earshot of the M8 motorway and Glasgow International Airport.
Weather was variable, with intermittent showers and a high of 14 degrees.
The Grade 1 contest featured 16 contestants, including two from Canada (Dowco Triumph Street and Simon Fraser University) and three bands (Buchan Peterson, Johnstone, and Police Service of Northern Ireland) making their debut in the top grade.
The O'Toole's were drawn to play at 3.15pm and gave a very good performance for what was the first outing onto the grass this season.
When the results were announced,the band came in with a solid enough 4th placing.
Congratulations must go to D/S Stephen Creighton and his drum corp though on winning the yet another major championship and being crowned British Champions for 2017.
Well done to all..
Grade 1 (MSR, 16 competed)
1 - Inveraray & District
2 - Field Marshal Montgomery
3 - Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia
4 - St. Laurence O’Toole
5 - Police Scotland Fife
6 - Scottish Power
Drumming: St. Laurence O’Toole
Judges: Colin Moffett, John Connor (piping); Harry Russell (drumming); Cameron Edgar (ensemble)
Have a listen to the band's performance below.....
We hope you can support the band by purchasing our latest CD - Turas Ceoil : Resume - Live in Glasgow 2018.
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The bands latest live recording, Turas Ceoil : Live in Glasgow 2018 is now available direct from the band.
Performed to a sellout crowd of over 2,100 people last August, the show has received many rave reviews and the CD captures the band the way it should be heard - live.
The CD retails at €15.00 euro........and this includes worldwide shipping.
Please click the button below to add it to your cart.
In 1910 a meeting was organised by the St. Laurence O'Toole Gaelic Athletic Association Club in the CBS school,Seville Place,Dublin.The main mover in forming the band was Frank Cahill.
Frank was for many years an Alderman of Dublin Corporation,and later a member of the new Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann).Amongst those present at the meeting were Pádraig Pearse, Thomas Clarke, Sean McDermott, Arthur Griffith, Douglas Hyde (later to become the first President of Ireland),and the famous Irish playwright, Seán O'Casey.The first Secretary of the band was Seán O'Casey.The first President of the band was Thomas Clarke.Casey acted in many plays staged by the St.Laurence O'Toole Dramatic Society to raise money for the band .Michael Colgan (later a Senator) was the first Pipe Major.
In 1918,the HQ of the band in 100 Seville Place,Dublin were acquired by the band.
During the Irish War of Independence 1918-1922,the HQ was attacked by the military on numerous occasions.Furnishings,fireplaces,etc. were ripped out and thrown out into the street.
During the Great Strike of 1913 in Dublin (wherein the Irish Trade Union movement had its origins) the band was set upon by mounted police in Lombard Street while leading a contingent of workers on a protest rally to Liberty Hall (Union HQ).Some of the band members were injured and their instruments smashed.
The band took part at the funerals of many of the leaders of the nationalist movement of the time including Thomas Ashe, O'Donovan Rossa, Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins.....the man who is credited with winning the War of Independence and with signing the Treaty which established the then Irish Free State .
Following the War of Independence and the subsequent Civil War,the band ceased to have any political affiliations.
The St. Laurence O'Toole band was the first band to broadcast from the newly formed Radio Éireann in the 1930's when the station was known as 2 R.N. and one of the earliest Pipe Bands to ever broadcast in Scotland, this was when the band first visited the Cowal Games in Dunoon in 1925.A concert was held in conjunction with the games and was broadcast on the B.B.C. Scottish Programme.
The St. Laurence O'Toole were also the first Irish band ever to visit England and America.On the formation of the IPBA in the 1930's,the O'Toole's were one of the first bands to join and have been an integral part of that organisation ever since.The St.Laurence O'Toole have taken part in many contests in Ireland and Scotland and at one time or another have won every major award for Piping and Drumming in Ireland.In 1958,the band won the All Ireland Senior Championships and in doing so also won the Open Drumming prize..The band was also successful in Scotland taking two first prizes the same year.
The Pipe Major of the band at that time was John Duggan and the Drum Sergeant was Frank Saunders , Snr.Other officials included James Fitzsimons,Johnny MacDonnell,Mick Lawless, Paddy MacDonnell,Frank Burns,Robert Kavanagh,Charles Stokes,Jimmy Fleming and Patrick Brady.Following the heady days of the 1950's the band began an unfortunate downward slide.Several members fell by the wayside due to commitments to the army and Pipe Major John Duggan resigned in 1967.
There was a further decline in membership and the band was not in a position to take part in competition .No new Pipe Major was appointed for some time but whenever a public engagement was undertaken,the late Tommy Tully acted as Pipe Major.Eventually,Tommy was elected as Pipe Major.Things got to such a dire state,however,at one stage that there were only four active members of the band left - Charlie Stokes,Seamus Casey, Tommy Tully,and Peter O'Rourke.These four men decided to make one last effort at reviving the band.
Seamus Casey brought his sons Eamonn and Dominic down to learn the pipes (Dominic later changed to the drums and was drum sergeant in the band for many years).Tommy Tully brought along his sons Terry (the legendary Pipe Major of the band and top class soloist) and Patrick.
New blood coming into the band gave a renewed interest to some of the older members and the band began to appear once again at contests.During the period of decline the band had been regraded to Grade 3.
In 1974,the band won the All Ireland in Grade 3 and were subsequently up-graded to Grade 2.
Tommy Tully gradually gave over the reins to his son Terry.At first,Terry just performed the role of band tuner while his father still called the shots.Eventually,Terry was to assume full control and bring the band on to become the top outfit in the Republic of Ireland. Sadly,Tommy Tully died in April 1984.Tommy was well known in the Pipe Band world as a 'character' and enlivened many an IPBA meeting with his observations and comments.In the introduction to his first book of tunes,Terry Tully cites his father Tommy as having been the major influence on his playing career. A great tribute indeed to a great stalwart of the Pipe Band scene in Ireland.Seamus Casey also died in 1984. Seamus,despite his years, continued to attend at band practices right up to the week before he died.
The pipers and drummers in the St. Laurence O'Toole didn't pick their dedication up off the ground,as they say here.The band celebrated its 75th Anniversary in 1985 and were to finish that year as Champion of Champions in Grade 2 in the IPBA.The trophy presented was,rather aptly,the Tommy Tully Memorial Trophy .
About this time,both Terry Tully and Ronan Maguire began to feature in solo contests.To date they have won several All Ireland Senior Solo Championships between them and many other competitions too numerous to mention here.1985 saw the band beginning to travel up North again for some 'real' competition and gradually began to feature in the prize lists.
In 1986,John Keogh took over as Drum Sergeant from Dominic Casey who had done sterling work up to that point.The band took 6th prize at the European Championship in Stranraer that year and played all the way back to the Ferryport, up into the ferry and all the way home.The improvement continued in 1987.The band took prizes in 17 out of 17 contests and finished 2nd in the World Championships in Glasgow.The band won thirteen out of fifteen contests outright including the Leinster,Ulster,All Ireland and Scottish Championships. The band also finished 3rd at the Cowal Championships in Dunoon.One placing higher in Dunoon that year would have seen O'Toole's as Champion of Champions in Grade 2 in Scotland.Has any one ever explained why one piping judge had the pipe corps 1st while the other piping judge had them 17th out of 22 bands ??
And you feel hard done by at times ??
In 1988, the band were again placed second at the Worlds and were subsequently upgraded to Grade 1.
1989 saw the band win its first Grade 1 contest,at Moira,beating Field Marshal Montgomery into second place - this was also the bands first outing in Grade 1.
The band were narrowly beaten into second place at the All Ireland that year also,as the Moira result was reversed - the contest was recorded by Lismor Records and the album is now a collectors item.
In 1991,the St. Laurence O'Toole won the coveted Ulster Championships becoming the first band from the Republic of Ireland ever to do so and also take the Grade One event at the Pitlochry Games in Scotland.
Recognising the quality of their musical standard,the Irish government invited O'Toole's to the World Expo '92 in Seville,Spain along with such groups as The Chieftains.1992 also saw the band gain a 4th prize at the Cowal Championships in Dunoon.
O'Toole's suffer from the same problem as many Irish bands - lack of players to compete at the highest level. The IPBA only has 50-60 pipe bands spread over 26 counties ( i.e. approx. 24,000 square miles).
Players in O'Toole's sometimes have to make round trips of 200 miles plus to practice,at their own expense.
This is a logistics problem that is not easily solved.
The band have regularly been in the prize list in Ireland but Scotland has been a tougher nut to crack - until 2002.This had been the band best season to date - with prizes gained at the All Ireland,European and British Championships and a very credible seventh at the World Championships (just outside the prize list).
The pipe corps have gone from strength to strength and the drum corp,now led by Stephen Creighton,are a real contender for major honours - they took the premier drumming prize at the All Ireland and became the first Republic of Ireland band since 1966 to do so.
The 2003 season was pretty impressive too - with prizes gained at three of the major championships in Scotland.After a shaky start at the first major (Dumbarton), the band when on to gain placings at the British , Cowal and European Championships - three 5th's in all.Narrowly lost out on the All Ireland title once again to the Field Marshal Montgomery.The band won the medley, best bass and tenor and also the drum corp retained their crown from the previous season.The winner on the day being decided on MSR piping preference as both bands were tied on overall points.The band also finished up 9th overall at the World Championships, winning the morning qualifying round with ease.
With a little more luck on the day the band could have finished in the overall prizes as they were 6th in the MSR in the final but too far down in the medley .
Unfortunately, it wasn't to be......
More great strides were made in 2004.The band for the first time in its history gaining prizes in all five major championships.Beginning with a 4th prize at the Scottish Championships in Dumbarton. At the British Championship in Turiff the band moved up another notch in the pecking order......taking 3rd.
Next up was the European Championships in Lisburn, and again the band went one better...........2nd.
Could the ultimate be achieved at the next major, the Worlds......????.Not quite, but a very credible 6th prize was gained and the celebrations continued long into the night(and next morning !!).
The band finished off the season at the Cowal Championships in Dunoon with a 3rd prize.
Next up, the All Ireland Solo Championships and again this proved very successful for the band players. Alen Tully and Stephen Creighton took both Senior Piping and Drumming. Stewart MacLeod took the Junior Piping and Conor Sherry finished joint 2nd in the Intermediate Drumming.
A very satisying season indeed.
The most notable achievement in 2006 was the drum corp winning the World Drumming Championships in Glasgow and also taking the Bass & Tenor Section title.The 2005, 2006 and 2007 seasons, saw the band maintaining it position as one of the World's best pipe band's.2005 was the year that the band recorded it's first album - live at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in August - it can be purchased direct from the band.The 2007 season saw the band winning it's first Grade One All-Ireland Championships since 1952 - a title which was also retained in 2008.Another highlight of the 2007 season was the band's invitation to perform our "Dawning of thd Day" concert at the Carnegie Music Hall,Pittsburgh.
It's 2008 that will go down in the band's history as it's defining moment - it's entry into the "big time".
Winning the Scottish and British Championships, runner-up in the European and Cowal Championships and 5th overall at the World Championships.This run of results saw the band crowned Grade One Champion of Champions (Supreme Champions) for the 2008 season - the first non RSPBA band ever to achieve the feat and the first new name on the trophy since 1960.
2009 saw the band maintain it's position at the top of Grade One, with solid results in all the major championships......runner up at the Scottish,European and Cowal Championships, plus the band's highest placing to date at the World Championships - 3rd.The drum corp also had a fantastic season with wins in the Scottish, European and All-Ireland Championships.The band also returned to the concert stage for the Pre-World's concert at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall - a complete sellout - recorded for posterity and available as both CD and DVD.As part of the celebrations for the 100th anniversary, we put together a history book for future generations plus a calendar & collage poster - each will, in time, become collectors items.To pay tribute to all those who have brought the band to where it is today, a celebratory dinner took place for past and present members in March.......... and the party went on for THREE DAYS !
The 2010 season started well with the band winning the European and All-Ireland Championships, but it also became historic for another reason - it saw the band achieve what is the pinnacle for pipe band's, winning the Grade One World Championship.
Our drum corp also achieved the top prize in all three championships.
At the end of the 2013 season,and after 30 years as Pipe Major,Terry handed over the reigns to his son,Alen,who has has more than hit the ground running.
In his first season,2014,he led the band to three successive 3rd placings in the British,UK and Scottish Championships.
Won his first All Ireland Championships and finished a very credible 3rd at the World Championships.
The 2015 season continued in he same vein,although this time the band was to win it's first major championships since 2010 - The Scottish Championships - and almost taking the big one in August,but had to settle for 2nd overall.
The drum corp though had another successful campaign,winning their third World Championships and also winning the Champion of Champions for the second year running.
2016 saw a win for the band at the European Championships in Forres,2nd at the Scottish in Dumbarton,3rd overall at the World's and the drum corp retain their World Championship trophy from the previous season.
In 2017, the band were placed 4th overall at the British, 3rd at the UK, 4th at the British, 3rd at the Scottish and 3rd at the World Championships, whilst the drum corp added the British, Scottish and All Ireland to their list of Championship wins.
2018 would see the band return to the concert stage for the first time since 2010, at the Royal Concert Hall Glasgow, for what has been described as one of the best concerts ever – playing to a full house - once again with standing room only.
The band also added another two major Championships to the trophy cabinet – the UK and Scottish Championships – with 4th at the British, 4th at the European and 3rd at the World Pipe Band Championships.
The drum corp also had another fantastic season, winning the World, UK, Scottish and All Ireland Championships and with two 3rd placings in the British and European they were once again crowned Champion of Champions.
The St. Laurence O'Toole repertoire includes a large selection of Irish traditional tunes and also tunes composed by our own current and ex -members - (Terry Tully,Dave Rickard ,Tim Farrelly,Gerry Hanlon, Alen Tully and Richard Magowan,to name but a few) and along with such bands as the 78th Fraser Highlanders from Toronto have done much to have Irish jigs,reels and hornpipes accepted as standard in pipe band selections.
Terry has also proven to be quite a composer,with top bands around the world playing his tunes and he has published four books - so far.
Not bad going for a band that started life in a small hall in Dublin City Centre - - way back in 1910.
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