There was a great turnout for the 28th Pipe Major Donald Macleod MBE Memorial Competition in Stornoway on Friday as with fans travelled from around the globe to hear the best eight pipers in the world play.
One fan travelled all the way to Lewis from Tasmania for the competition while Runrig legend Malcolm Jones – a piper as well as a guitarist – was also spotted in the audience.
The senior competition was won by Alasdair Henderson, on only his second time at the invitational competition, with Finlay Johnston runner-up.
The pair had tied on marks, with the overall winner decided by the Ceol Mor. The other pipers were Callum Beaumont, Stuart Liddell, Angus MacColl, James Duncan MacKenzie, Roddy MacLeod and Innes Smith.
The junior competition on Thursday was won by Eilidh MacDonald from Tarbert, Harris. The other youngsters who played were Isabel Beaton, Innes Begg, Mairead Gailbraith, Ruairidh MacDonald, Seumas Mackay, Micheal MacLellan and Charlie Shirkie.
Friday’s programme began with the Ceol Mor piobareachd competition in the morning, followed by the light music in the afternoon. The March, Strathspey and Reel section was first and then the Hornpipe and Jig. There is also now a fourth part to the competition: a Slow Air, voted for by the audience.
This year, the runaway winner was local piper James Duncan MacKenzie, playing at the Donald MacLeod for the second time and off the back of his runner-up position last year.
Alasdair Henderson was delighted to take the overall win.
He said: “I’m very, very pleased. It’s a great field of players. I know all these guys fairly well as friends and I know how good they are.
“I felt quite prepared which is an essential part of this and all the tunes went really well. It was nice to come back to the room afterwards and feel quite happy and pleased with the way I’d played.”
Friday afternoon also featured a performance on a historic set of bagpipes with a strong Stornoway provenance.
These were the bagpipes once owned by John Morrison of Assynt House and restored by the late Bobby Munro, who played them for many years in the Lewis Pipe Band and was a founding member of the Lewis and Harris Piping Society.
The pipes date back to the mid 19th century and were brought to the competition by their owner, Mrs Tabby Angier, who is a regular attendee.
They were played by Stuart Liddell, who played three Donald MacLeod compositions: An Island Lullaby and then his tunes for his daughters, Susan MacLeod and Fiona MacLeod, who are guests of honour at the competition every year. He finished off with the tune John Morrison of Assynt House.
Stuart said it was ‘lovely” to play the pipes and praised their “old sound”, which he added reminded him of his own grandfather’s.
He said: “The venue is great and the whole competition is an amazing set-up. Great tunes, great camaraderie. It’s just a lovely competition.”
The judges were Rhona Lightfoot, Murray Henderson and Ian Duncan, while Fear an Taigh was John Wilson.
Such is the prestige of the competition, it attracts visitors from far and wide and this year’s furthest travelled guest is thought to have been visitor Mark Bowles, from Hobart in Tasmania.
Mark, an economist and recreational piper who previously played in the Victoria Police Pipe Band, is in Scotland for 10 days. His journey took 30 hours and included four flights and a boat ride.
He said: “I timed it so I could get here and see all the best pipers in one day. It’s great. I think the unique thing about coming to Stornoway is it’s like the home of traditional piping and Gaelic culture so that’s the bit that’s really interesting.”
Junior winner Eilidh MacDonald said it was “a really enjoyable day” and “really good to be surrounded by all these pipers".
Dr John Smith, chairman of the Piping Society, thanked everyone who contributed to making the day a success and all the sponsors, including headline sponsor Point and Sandwick Trust.
He said: “The tone of the pipes and the standard of playing were as high as you would get at any competition, including The Glenfiddich.
“It reflects the prestige that has been achieved over the years, that the competition attracts an audience from all over the world and I understand there were some distinguished visitors in the audience including a well-known musician who started off as a piper but then went to ’the dark side’.
“The challenge for us now is to continue to organise the competition on an annual basis.”
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