October 29th 2022
Today we had the first practice in our new premises at St.Mary's Hospital in the Phoenix Park,Dublin - and after a few years in Maynooth,Co.Kildare, we're back in the centre of the city and not too far from where the band first began in 1910.
August 12th & 13th, 2022
After two days of competition under scorching sunny and hot conditions for Glasgow, Field Marshal Montgomery were crowned World Pipe Band Champions with the best combined results over four separate events – two Medleys and two MSRs – one of each played each day. It was the thirteenth time winning the World’s for Field Marshal Montgomery and, with it, Pipe-Major Richard Parkes breaks the record of World titles for a Grade 1 pipe-major, previously held by Pipe-Major Ian MacLellan of the Glasgow/Strathclyde Police Pipe Band. Simon Fraser University won the overall drumming title, the sixth time that Lead-Drummer Reid Maxwell had led a corps to the prize – five times with SFU and once with the 78th Fraser Highlanders. Field Marshal Montgomery won the Friday Medley event, while 2019 World Champions Inveraray & District took the Saturday MSR. ScottishPower were first in the Friday MSR and Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia won the Saturday Medley.
Rankings from the 16 Grade 1 judges were frequently scattered, with wide divergences between piping judges and ensemble and drumming judges. Field Marshal Montgomery was able to overcome a tenth place from drumming judge Stuart Coils in the Saturday Medley, and an eighth in drumming in the Friday MSR from Duncan Millar. Simon Fraser University received an eleventh in piping from judge Jim Wark in the Friday MSR, and a seventh in drumming from former SFU member Millar, while the other three judges placed the SFU corps first in the other three events.
Fourteen bands competed in Grade 1, and there were 145 bands overall, a substantially smaller number than pre-pandemic years. The size of the bands themselves was generally smaller, most pipe sections from 14 to 17 members though some featured more than 20 pipers. Drum corps sizes in general did not appear to have been affected much through the two-year hiatus. A few groups featured more drummers than pipers.
The pitch of pipe sections consistently exceeded 490Hz, with a few reaching 494Hz.
BBC Scotland live-streamed the Saturday competition for free. Viewer numbers were not known, but the previous day’s Grade 1 events, live-streamed by Inner Ear, were watched by about 2,500 at peak points. Production value was very high, though a BBC camera operator was frequently about a foot away from competing players.
The Saturday Grade 1 Medley competition was the final performance for Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia Lead-Drummer Gordon Brown, who announced his retirement the day before the event. Brown held the post for more than 30 years, winning several World Pipe Band Drumming and numerous others drumming championships along the way, making him one of the greatest pipe band drummers in history.
The 2022 World’s was the final competition for judges Ken Eller and Alan Ronaldson, as both have reached age 75, the RSPBA’s mandatory age of retirement. RSPBA Chief Executive Ian Embelton officially exited the position after more than two decades. At the closing ceremony, Inveraray & District Pipe-Major Stuart Liddell played a solo tribute, “Hector the Hero,” for those lost during the pandemic. Incoming CEO Colin Mulhern then took over announcement duties with a welcomed positive and clear voice, but then handed over the Grade 1 announcement to Embelton.
The march-past and prize ceremony, despite far fewer bands, took almost two-and-a-half hours with the whole event finishing at 7:35 pm.
Grade 1 (14 competed, fewer points better)
1st Field Marshal Montgomery (46 total points based on judges’ rankings across all four events)
2nd Inveraray & District (Scotland) (50)
3rd ScottishPower (Scotland) (62)
4th St. Laurence O’Toole (Ireland) (68)
5th Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (Scotland) (74)
6th Simon Fraser University (Canada) (77)
7th Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (Scotland) (104)
8th Police Scotland Fife Scotland) (112)
9th Police Scotland & Federation (Scotland) (158)
10th St. Thomas Alumni (USA) (164)
11th 78th Fraser Highlanders (Canada) (175)
12th Johnstone (Scotland) (182)
13th Closkelt (Northern Ireland) (198)
14th City of Dunedin (USA) (210)
World Pipe Band Drumming Champions: Simon Fraser University
Friday
Medley
1st Field Marshal Montgomery (1,1,5,1)
2nd St. Laurence O’Toole (3,3,2,2)
3rd ScottishPower (2,2,6,5)
4th Inveraray & District (4,6,3,3)
5th Simon Fraser University (7,4,1,6)
6th Police Scotland Fife (5,8,4,4)
7th Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (6,5,7,7)
8th Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (8,7,8,8)
9th St. Thomas Alumni (9,11,10,9)
10th 78th Fraser Highlanders (10,10,9,11)
11th Johnstone (13,9,12,10)
12th Police Scotland & Federation (11,12,11,12)
13th City of Dunedin (12,13,13,13)
14th Closkelt (14,14,14,14)
Judges: Maurice Rhodes, Bob Worrall (piping); Alex Dudgeon (drumming); Tom Brown (ensemble)
MSR
1st ScottishPower (2,5,2,2)
2nd Inveraray & District (5,2,1,4)
3rd Field Marshal Montgomery (3,1,8,1)
4th Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (1,7,6,3)
5th St. Laurence O’Toole (9,3,3,5)
6th Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (4,6,4,6)
7th Simon Fraser University (EnsPref) (11,4,7,7)
8th Police Scotland (8,8,5,8)
9th Police Scotland & Federation (7,10,9,10)
10th 78th Fraser Highlanders (10,9,11,11)
11th Johnstone (6,14,13,9)
12th St. Thomas Alumni (13,11,10,13)
13th Closkelt (12,13,12,12)
14th City of Dunedin (14,12,14,14)
Judges: Jim Wark, Ken Eller (piping); Duncan Millar (drumming); Alan Ronaldson (ensemble)
Saturday
Medley
1st Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (2,2,3,4)
2nd Field Marshal Montgomery (EnsPref) (1,1,10,1)
3rd Inveraray & District (3,3,4,3)
4th Simon Fraser University (5,5,1,6)
5th St. Laurence O’Toole (4,4,9,2)
6th ScottishPower (6,7,2,5)
7th Police Scotland Fife (EnsPref) (8,8,6,7)
8th Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (7,6,8,8)
9th St. Thomas Alumni (10,11,5,10)
10th Police Scotland & Federation (12,10,7,9)
11th 78th Fraser Highlanders (9,9,14,14)
12th Johnstone (13,12,11,11)
13th Closkelt (11,13,12,13)
14th City of Dunedin (14,14,13,12)
Judges: Robert Shaw, Peter Hunt (piping); Stuart Coils (drumming); Jim Baxter (ensemble)
MSR
1st Inveraray & District (1,2,5,1)
2nd Field Marshal Montgomery (2,1,6,3)
3rd Simon Fraser University (7,3,1,2)
4th ScottishPower (3,4,4,5)
5th Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (4,7,3,4)
6th St. Laurence O’Toole (5,6,2,6)
7th Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (6,5,7,9)
8th Police Scotland Fife (9,9,8,7)
9th Police Scotland & Federation (8,8,9,13)
10th St. Thomas Alumni (10,10,10, 12)
11th Closkelt (11,12,11,10)
12th 78th Fraser Highlanders (13,14,13,8)
13th Johnstone (12,11,12,14)
14th City of Dunedin (14,13,14,11)
Judges: Ross Walker, Cameron Edgar (piping); Lee Innes, (drumming); Jennifer Hutcheon (ensemble)
Aggregate MSR winners: Inveraray & District
Aggregate Medley winners: Field Marshal Montgomery
Aggregate MSR Drumming: St. Laurence O’Toole
Aggregate Medley Drumming: Simon Fraser University
2022 RSPBA Grade 1 Champion of Champions: Field Marshal Montgomery
2022 RSPBA Grade 1 Champion of Champions Drumming: Inveraray & District
August 6th 2022
Donard Park in Newcastle, County Down, was the setting for the Heart of Down Pipe Band Championships, the final event of the RSPBANI Branch outdoor competition season and also the conclusion of the 2022 Champion of Champions league calculated on the five competitions over the summer. The competition had the largest entry of bands and drum majors at any local contest this season and there was also a largely attended Highland dancing competition which ran throughout the day.
A large crowd of spectators were in attendance and this was encouraged in no small way by the beautifully sunny weather that prevailed.
Grade 1:
1st Field Marshal Montgomery
2nd St Laurence O’Toole
3rd Closkelt
MSR and Medley recordings posted below......
July 30th 2022
The Scottish Pipe Band Championships were held today, Saturday July 30, at Levengrove Park in Dumbarton. The weather was overcast but warmish with occasional periods of sunshine. There was a new layout of the fields, and it didn’t feel like an improvement as it lost the iconic backdrop of the Dumbarton Rock sitting by the River Clyde and was all up and down hills. Though the Grade 1 arena was perfectly sited in a circular area that offered good views of the action from all angles. The results were as follows:
Grade 1
1 - Field Marshal Montgomery
2 - Inveraray and District
3 - Peoples Ford Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia
4 - Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia
5 - Scottish Power
6 - Police Scotland Fife
Best Drum Corps – Inveraray and District
For the first time in many years,SLOT finished outside the top six.....but you can listen to the
performance below.
June 25th 2022
The European Pipe Band Championships finally returned to the northern Scotland city of Inverness after a two-year hiatus, and Inveraray & District came away with the Grade 1 title in convincing fashion with four first place rankings from the judges, in a successful defense of the award. ScottishPower zoomed up with a second, while Field Marshal Montgomery took third. Dublin’s St. Laurence O’Toole improved on their sixth at the UK with a fourth.It was the third major championship of the RSPBA season. Inveraray & District won the British at Greenock, Scotland, and Field Marshal Montgomery took the UK at Lurgan, Northern Ireland.
The conditions couldn’t be much better at Bught Park, with the high around 20 degrees Celsius and sunshine throughout the day.
Grade 1 (medley, 13 competed)
1st Inveraray & District (Scotland) (1,1,1,1)
2nd ScottishPower (Scotland) (2,2,2,4)
3rd Field Marshal Montgomery (Northern Ireland) (3,3,5,2)
4th St. Laurence O’Toole (Ireland) (5,4,4,5)
5th Police Scotland Fife (Scotland) (6,5,3,7)
6th Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate (Scotland) (4,6,6,6)
Judges: Robert Mathieson, John Wilson (piping); David Brown (drumming); Donald MacPhee (ensemble)
Have a listen to our performance below....
June 11th 2022
Field Marshal Montgomery won the 2022 United Kingdom Championship held at Lurgan Park for the first time in two years.
It was the second of five RSPBA major championships. British Champions Inveraray & District were second in the MSR competition. ScottishPower, out of the list at the British, returned to the prizes, while Police Scotland Fife rose another place with a third. Ravara, also of Northern Ireland, won the Grade 1 medley contest, while winners at the British, Buchan Peterson finished third. Portlethan & District enjoyed two firsts in piping but were placed well back in drumming and ensemble to drop to sixth.
Conditions were mainly wet, windy and difficult for all.
Grade 1 (MSR, 10 competed)
1st Field Marshal Montgomery (1,1,2,1)
2nd Inveraray & District (2,2,1,2)
3rd Police Scotland Fife (3,3,3,4)
4th ScottishPower (4,4,5,3)
5th Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (6,5,6,5)
6th St. Laurence O’Toole (7,7,4,6)
Best Drum Corps : Inveraray & District
Judges: Mark Faloon, Jim Semple (piping); Gordon Parkes (drumming); Gordon Lawrie (ensemble)
Not our best day at the office,due to a variety of reasons,but the bad start sealed out fate.
Have a listen to our performance below....
May 21st 2022
Following two years without an RSPBA major, reigning World Champions Inveraray & District won the British Championship at a drizzly Battery Park on the banks of the estuary of the river Clyde against nine other Grade 1 bands, the smallest Grade 1 entry for a championship event in decades. Entries and band sizes were generally smaller across the grades. As a result, the march-past started sooner than usual at around 5 pm, and the event was wrapped by about 6 pm.
Inveraray won with two seconds in piping and firsts in drumming and ensemble, while Field Marshal Montgomery was second, with two two piping firsts, but could not overcome a fifth in drumming and a third in ensemble. Defending British Champions St. Laurence O’Toole ended up third, but with a strong second in ensemble.
Police Scotland Fife enjoyed their highest-ever placing in a major championship, ending up fourth.
Grade 1 (own choice medley, 10 competed)
1st Inveraray & District (2,2,1,1)
2nd Field Marshal Montgomery (1,1,5,3)
3rd St. Laurence O’Toole (3,4,4,2)
4th Police Scotland Fife (6,6,3,4)
5th Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (5,3,7,6)
6th Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (4,5,6,7)
Drumming: Inveraray & District
Judges: George Wilson, Tony Sloane (piping); Brian Martin (drumming); Peter Snaddon (ensemble)
Check out our performance on the day below.....
3rd March 2022
Pipe Major Terry Tully, a member of Dublin’s St Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band since 1973 and pipe major of the band from 1984 to 2013, has announced his retirement from the band and competitive piping in Grade 1.
After handing over the reins as pipe major to his son Alen in 2013, Terry continued to compete with the band up until the last Grade 1 major championship before the Covid 19 pandemic, the 2019 World Pipe Band Championships.
The names Terry Tully and St Laurence O’Toole are so closely associated that over the years Terry was often referred to as “Terry O’Toole”, sometimes jokingly but in many cases in the mistaken assumption he had established the band! It’s therefore inevitable that Terry will still be seen around the band.
Terry took the reins as pipe major following the death of his father and then pipe major Tommy Tully in 1984. The band was in grade 2 at the time. The band was promoted to grade 1 in 1988 after two successive years finishing 2nd in the Worlds in Grade 2.
Under Terry’s leadership and having been bolstered by the addition of Drum Sergeant Stephen in 1999, the band went from strength to strength in Grade 1 over the years, finally winning its first major championships in Grade 1 in 2008 at Dumbarton and Birmingham. Its upward trajectory continued, and Terry joined the list of Grade 1 World Championship winning pipe majors in 2010, firmly cementing his place in pipe band history.
Outside the competition circle, Terry is also widely known for his compositions, many of which, such as the Pumpkin’s Fancy, Eric Stein, Hamilton’s Nutsack and Tommy Tully’s Air, have become classics. Terry is also adept at the adaptation of traditional Irish tunes, such as the Queen of the Rushes, to the highland bagpipe, and he has published five books featuring his compositions and arrangements. Terry retired from the solo scene many years ago, after winning three All Ireland Senior Championships.
Since stepping down as pipe major from the band in 2013, Terry has made use of the additional time available to him to pass on his knowledge and teach around the world, something he enjoys very much. This is something he will continue doing.
It’s also expected that Tully’s Bar, at his home in Kildare, scene of many a great night after various competitions, will stay open for business for its most loyal of customers.
With his world beating leadership of the band, his gift for composing, and his teaching and barman skills there is no doubt that “TT”, as he is affectionately known in band circles, has left his mark on the pipe band world and will go down as a legend.
Commenting on his career and retirement, Terry said:
“The band, and pipe band scene, has given me so much. I would like to thank all those who played in the band during the time I was a member and pipe major, and all the bandsmen and women I met along the way on the field. The band’s supporters and my supporters in Ireland, Scotland and further afield also have my thanks, as do all those who have sent best wishes on my retirement. I wish Alen, Stephen and band members current and future all the best, and I will be there to cheer you along.”
SLOTPB Pipe Major & Terry’s son Alen said:
“It’s been a privilege to have Dad play in the ranks and supporting me since his retirement as PM in 2013. His encouragement and help behind the scenes have been invaluable and for that I am truly grateful. Not many people get to win majors and a world’s title under their father, and for me to have him in the ranks winning majors with me leading the band were very special times. While Dad won’t be a playing member of the band anymore, I know he will be there to help us with the set-up on the day and will still play a vital role in the success of the band going forward.”
23rd February 2022
Calling all golfers!!
Join us for our fundraiser golf outing in Kilcock. Friday 1st of April.
Teams of 4 €280 each
Dinner included afterwards.
Great prizes on the day!!
Please support to help the band for the coming season!!
If you wish to take part, please email slotannualgolf@gmail.com with your name and your teams name.
| Date | Competition | NAME |
|---|---|---|
| 7 May 2022 | North Down Championships | Bangor |
| 14 May 2022 | British Pipe Band Championships | Greenock |
| 4 June 2022 | Mid Ulster Championships | Cookstown |
| 11 June 2022 | British Championships | Lurgan |
| 25 June 2022 | European Championships | Inverness |
| 2 July 2022 | All Ireland Championships | New Ross |
| 23 July 2022 | Ulster Championships | Ballymena |
| 30 July 2022 | Scottish Championships | Dumbarton |
| 6 August 2022 | Co.Down Championships | Newcastle |
| 12 & 13 August 2022 | World Championships | Glasgow Green |
