Solo pipers take centre stage
Solo pipers of all ages will be looking forward to major events next weekend.
Solo pipers of all ages will be looking forward to major events next weekend.
The Young Players of the Year, which is organised by the Competing Soloists' Organisation (CSO) will be held on Friday with the Northern Ireland Piping Society's Piper of the Year taking place on the Saturday.
The annual Young Player of the Year competition in Dungannon Rugby Club's clubrooms at Stevenson Park, with the competition getting underway at 7pm. This is an invitational event for solo pipers with two sections - under 15 and 15 to 18. Adjudicator for the evening is Mark Faloon from Portadown.
Admission is 5 for adults with children admitted free of charge.
The actions gets underway early on Saturday for the Piper of the Year competition.
The Adair Arms Hotel in Ballymena is the venue, where the Piobaireachd competition commences at 1pm with the March, Strathspey and Reel competition taking place from 7pm.
Adjudicators for the event are Tom Speirs and Iain Speirs from Edinburgh.
This is a rather special year for this particular competition as it is the 30th anniversary competition.
Over there years there have been many changes to the event including a new format and new locations.
The Northern Ireland Piping Society was formed in 1978 by a group of piping enthusiasts who were concerned about the standard of individual piping in Northern Ireland.
The NIPS took the decision to create an open competition which would enable both senior and junior players to compete against each other for the title of 'Piper of the Year.'
The society appointed P/M Norman Dodds as chairman, Ken Kerr as secretary and the late Tom Hackett as treasurer. The committee consisted of Billy McCarroll, Jonnie Findlay, Billy Wade, Jimmy Greer and Sammy Pollock.
The first competition took place in October 1978 at Tullymore House Hotel in Broughshane. The adjudicator was P/M Brian McCrea of the Royal Highland Fusileers, who was later to become Queen's Piper. The overall winner of the first Piper of the Year 1978/79 went to P/M Norman Dodds MBE.
The competition was held at Tullymore House for almost 20 years but, due to development was forced to seek alternative premises. The competition then moved to Dromore, Co. Down, and then to the Carngrove Hotel in Portadown before finally the event moved back to Ballymena in the Adair Arms Hotel.
Since moving from Tullymore House the competition format also changed. Now there is only one event to decide the Piper of the Year and the players are asked to perform only one march, strathspey and reel from a submitted list of three.
Players are invited on merit. Pipers who have attained senior status, and are currently competing are invited along with prizewinning junior and intermediate pipers. There is no barrier separating junior and senior players-they are expected to compete on even terms. Notably Len Browne and David Caldwell were both winners of the Piper of the Year, whilst graded as junior players, during the second and third years of the competition and Tom Wray, Roy McAnally, David Middelton and Ashley McMichael in subsequent years.
The Northern Ireland Branch of the RSPBA are seeking to assemble an archive of material relating to the local pipe band scene.
Anyone who would have old programmes, photographs, band member lists or other memoriabilia is urged to come forward and make contact with branch.
If people wish to donate the items they will be grateful received however if people wish to keep an item it is possible to have it copied and returned.
Anyone wishing to submit an item can do so by contacting the branch office at 32A Bachelors Walk, Lisburn, BT28 1UA or by telephone 028 9267 0445.
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 14 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 5 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
