Deaf men don’t wear plaid

The 2008 All Ireland Piping Championships were held in the Showgrounds in Ennis on Saturday (not that you’d know it from either the signage or the rather sparse publicity). No bother finding the showgrounds once the bands started warming up – I’d say you could hear them all over Clare.

The weather threatened to play havoc with the day – but while I was there (from about midday to 3.30), there was only an odd short shower. Most of the bands were from the north of the island but there were a few bands from Scotland and even one from Stockholm.

The routine, to my untrained eye and ear, was for every band to spend the best part of an hour getting each member to play in tune – most bands consisted of a set of drummers and bagpipes – and, once they were warmed up, head into the arena for their competitive performance. Each band march into a marked-out circle and play, while judges walk around an outer circle evaluating the band’s performance.

I was there because a friend of mine was performing, and better still, his band won in their category. So a big shout out to the Achill Island Drum’n’Bag Collective and best of luck to Kevin when he performs at the World Piping Festival in Glasgow later in the year.

Here is a  full gallery of images from the 2008 All Ireland Piping Festival.