Episode 2 All Ireland Pipe Band Championships

Hello, and welcome to the UK City of Culture 2013, Derry, Londonderry,

who are playing host to the 68th All Ireland Pipe Band Championships.

We're here in St Columb's Park

with the second of our programmes from this year's competition.

It's the first time the Championships have visited

the Maiden City and over 60 bands have come to Derry

in search of a prized All Ireland title.

Coming up in the programme, we'll be bringing you the very

best of the action from this festival of piping.

We'll introduce you to the woman who won...but didn't.

We'll meet the band who have risen from the ashes.

And we'll get a behind-the-scenes look at the world champion,

who is breathing new life

into one of the most famous bands in the business.

As always, the performance rings are the centre of attention.

The competition is tight and this year, especially in the Grade 2,

where a famous name has returned with a new lease of life.

Ralph McLean went to find out more.

For decades, the fields around the County Down hamlet of Bleary

have echoed to the sound of the pipes and drums.

But seven years ago, that sound faded away

as the band put their pipes back in the box for the last time.

But today, there's a familiar sound on the wind...

My name's Nigel Davison

and I'm the Pipe Major of Bleary & District Pipe Band.

Davisons have been associated with Bleary & District pipe bands

from the 1960s right up until the present day.

It was important to get Bleary & District Pipe Band

back on the road again, because it's in our blood,

it's who we are, it's our culture and our heritage.

But several hurdles had to be overcome

before the Bleary dream could become a reality.

The problems with getting a band back on the road again is,

obviously, the cost it takes to run a band,

plus getting the quality of players in that you need.

In their hour of need, Bleary turned to the church for inspiration.

I'm David Brown,

I'm leading drummer and chairman of Bleary & District Pipe Band.

I'm also the minister of Castlecaulfield

and Eglish Presbyterian churches.

It's hard to attract good players to reforming a band,

because players will only come to a band that's up and going.

There's always that suspicion, will the band get out?

Because many bands have tried to reform

and they've not been successful.

Although the band tempted some former players back into the ranks,

a few key vacancies required a less traditional solution.

We just put an advert in the Facebook for tenor drummers

and we got two girls

who had never, ever played a tenor drum in their lives before.

Tremendous success story, because they won,

over the last two Saturdays,

they've won the Best Bass and Tenor sections,

so they've done tremendously well.

The search for new talent has also led the band to

cast their nets beyond the shores of Northern Ireland.

My name is Jack Williamson and I'm from Topeka, Kansas, in the USA.

Bleary are the first band to take advantage of a scheme which offers

talented young overseas musicians the chance to play with Irish bands.

The main reason I wanted to come to Northern Ireland is

the standard of play is much higher,

and I really wanted to jump at the chance

to help an old band like Bleary get back to its former glory.

So far, I've had great fun in Northern Ireland,

playing in a band with a higher standard.

It's a lot of fun, and playing with a group of such good guys and girls,

it makes playing in a band a lot more fun.

So, having overcome some of the early challenges,

what lies ahead for this born-again band?

Our aim was first of all to get out on the road,

and that's what we've done,

but ultimately we want to get back to where we were in 2005,

and that's Grade 1 qualifying for the Worlds.

Well, Bleary's next step on this journey

was in today's Grade 2 competition.

With seven other bands hoping

to take home this prestigious All Ireland title,

it's time to see if those months of practice have paid off.

PIPE BAND PLAYS

Next into the ring, Manorcunningham from Letterkenny,

who have made the short trip over from County Donegal.

PIPE BAND PLAYS

One of the many well-supported bands in this grade

are Aughintober from Castlecaulfield in County Tyrone.

PIPE BAND PLAYS

Cullen Pipe Band from County Cork were the first of two bands

hoping to take the Grade 2 title back to Munster.

PIPE BAND PLAYS

And next up, enjoying just their second year in Grade 2,

St Finbarr's from Cork city.

PIPE BAND PLAYS

Moving further north to County Wicklow,

Arklow were next to entertain the crowd.

PIPE BAND PLAYS

Another band who are likely to be in the running

for the Grade 2 Championship are the Pipes and Drums of the PSNI.

PIPE BAND PLAYS

Last into the ring today,

it's the distinctive Royal Stuart tartan of Cottown Pipe Band.

PIPE BAND PLAYS

So, as a strong Grade 2 competition comes to an end,

all that remains is the wait for the results.

First place, All Ireland champions for 2013, Bleary & District.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

A fabulous result for Bleary, the band taking first place overall

and also winning the Drum and Bass Section prizes.

Yes! Yes! Ha-ha!

The PSNI were placed second,

with Manorcunningham and Cullen taking the other two places.

We've moved up to Ebrington Square to the Drum Major competition.

It's a skill that takes years of hard work to perfect.

To become a world champion, you will probably also need

the will to succeed no matter what gets in the way.

It takes determination and focus to be a champion.

Paula Braiden has been a Drum Major since she was seven years old.

At senior level, she had won every title except the big one.

Certainly the World Championships is every person's dream

to be involved in, to compete in, and ultimately to win.

So, I had been second four years consecutively,

running up to 2011, so I thought, "Oh, definitely has to be my year."

I'd been in the grade nine years, and I really, really wanted it.

So I never have counted my chickens before they hatch,

but I'd this kind of feeling that maybe this was possibly my year.

So you go into the finale and Ian Embleton, he's the Chief Executive,

and his voice, it's just that voice that you listen in your dreams for

every year and you think, "Oh, world champion, Paula Braiden..."

I don't think I've ever been that excited in my entire life.

Even as a wee kid, you don't really appreciate

the importance of this event.

But not winning for nine years and working so hard to get it

and finally, your name being called, was the most amazing feeling ever.

So, came up jumping for joy, tears, happiness, laughter

and Mummy had come over and I just knew by her face,

I said, "What's wrong?"

And that year, they'd made a few mistakes in the actual prizes

and I'd been called out as a winner on two of the local competitions

and then they had taken the prize off me again.

So I said to Mum, "No, not again."

And I just knew, it was like a dagger to the heart,

I said, "No, Mummy, they can't do this again."

At that point, I didn't know what I could do.

All the results were wrong on that particular senior final.

There was nothing I could do,

I just had to try and come to terms with the fact

that the one thing I wanted was no longer mine.

It must have been really awful for you?

I felt really humiliated at the fact I'd been called up,

the cameras were all there, everyone was cheering,

it was 40,000 spectators.

I had wanted this so much and I didn't know what I wanted to do,

did I want to continue?

Or was it really I'd pushed myself to the point that

I couldn't give any more, I couldn't possibly have been any better?

How hard was it getting back in the saddle

-and deciding to compete again?

-I had the most wonderful support.

Everyone rallied round and said, "Look, you've inspired my kids."

People I didn't even know had contacted me

and said, "You know, you have to bounce back."

Movement. Spin. Step, slide.

'The kids that I teach, again, they were amazing.'

They came up with wee letters and wee drawings, to say,

"You're the best tutor in the world."

I actually could still cry thinking of the amount of people that

went to the effort of writing me a card, sending me a letter,

putting something on Facebook

or just sending me a message to say they were thinking of me.

And you did come back, 2012, you were crowned the world champion.

What did it feel like, to finally have it back in your hands?

Amazing, but I can't take away from the fact that I was nervous

and whenever the results were being given out,

I could feel myself moving back from the line.

I think I was in the middle of a Scottish band

before they even give out the name, whoever had won.

'And world champion for 2012...

'Paula Braiden, Cullybackey.'

When they called out my name, I was marching up.

I remember saying to the steward, "Is it me? Are you sure it's me?"

So, until I got the trophy in my hand, I wasn't fully...

I didn't fully appreciate that I actually had won the Worlds

and this time, I wasn't giving it back!

And Paula was back in action today

as she defended her All Ireland Senior title.

But it was a day of mixed emotions.

Although Paula had to settle for the runners-up place

in the Senior Championships,

she did have the joy of watching one of her pupils,

Stephen Gilchrist, win his first All Ireland title.

Let's get back to the music as we have a look at Grade 3a.

And we'll start with the reigning world champions,

Ballybriest Pipe Band from County Tyrone.

PIPE BAND PLAYS

Next up, it's Raffrey Pipe Band from County Down.

This year is the band's 80th anniversary,

so could they celebrate with a winning performance?

PIPE BAND PLAYS

Next into the ring, it's the distinctive green kilts

of St Laurence O'Toole from Dublin.

PIPE BAND PLAYS

Also from County Down, Annsborough have been going well all season.

Could this be another prize-winning performance?

PIPE BAND PLAYS

And those four bands claimed the top spots in this year's competition.

Raffrey were crowned champions, with Ballybriest, Annsborough

and St Laurence O'Toole collecting the rest of the silverware.

Derry is very proud of its famous musical sons and daughters

and top of that list in the world of piping has to be Ryan Canning.

But this year, the six-time world champion

has taken on the biggest challenge of his career.

HE PLAYS HARMONICA

From an early age, Ryan Canning and his music were inseparable.

MUSIC CONTINUES

Feather out. Quick, march!

But this year, after 16 seasons

and six world titles with Field Marshal Montgomery,

Ryan stunned the piping world with the news that it was time to move on.

It was really difficult to leave Field Marshal.

I was sad to leave so many good friends and such a successful band,

but it was the right time for a new challenge.

The nature of that move,

taking the reins at out-of-fashion Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia

surprised even Ryan's closest friends.

Ryan sent me a text saying,

"Just giving you a heads up,

"I'm taking on the role as Pipe Major for Shotts."

And I laughed hysterically, I thought it was funny,

because I had just assumed that the band was done.

Like the town whose name it bears,

the 15-times world champions have seen better days.

The once thriving Scottish mining community haven't celebrated

success in a major piping competition since 2005.

For the new Pipe Major, there's a job to be done.

I'd thought hard about it, to try to think

if I'd got what it takes to bring a band up.

I wouldn't want to take the role on unless I thought

I could actually take the band to where it needs to go.

Right, come on, good introductions here. He's really good.

We just need the right tune, and we'll be fine.

'So, the first challenge is to get the band stabilised

'and on a steady footing again,

'and from there, try and build the band up

'so that we hopefully can be competing with

'the likes of Field Marshal,

'who are of course still at the very pinnacle of the whole game.'

Ryan had met his wife Megan when they both played in Field Marshal.

She had left her home in California just to play with the Lisburn band,

so in the wake of Ryan's departure,

a few other difficult conversations lay ahead.

Whenever I made the difficult phone call to Richard Parks

to tell him I was leaving Field Marshal, he asked about Megan.

For me it was like choosing between your hero and your husband.

One of the strengths of Field Marshal is that they have lots of great players

and will continue to have great players,

and I just felt that at the critical point for Ryan,

it was the right thing to support him in a new venture.

With one challenge conquered, what was next?

One of the other goals in the band as a marker of how well we're doing

is if we're attracting good players wanting to join,

and hopefully that happens through people seeing the band

acting in the right manner, playing good music, sounding well.

And I think, so far, we've achieved that.

There shouldn't be mistakes. Ever.

Not this time of year.

'Taking on Shotts is the hardest thing he's ever had to do.

'I mean, I've noticed a huge change in the last nine months.'

He'll think about the band all the time, he listens to recordings all the time,

he'll wake up in the middle of the night thinking about things and going through things in his head.

I think he's managing it very well, though.

Something happened there.

So, what's the endgame for Ryan's new challenge?

A band like Shotts & Dykehead,

nobody should ever take a Pipe Major job in a band like this

unless the goal is to win a World Championship

or as many World Championships as possible.

But in case that success ever goes to Ryan's head,

his wife will help him to keep his feet on the ground.

Just like any other player, I would never question him.

What he says goes. Ryan is the boss, this is his domain here.

And at home it's a different matter. I'm the boss at home.

I'm sure there are great things ahead for Shotts.

We'll watch that space.

Back to our All Ireland action as we round up

the prize-winners in Grade 3b.

PIPE BAND PLAYS

-TANNOY:

-'Just for your attention, a lady has lost her camera today

'down at the bottom of the arena somewhere.'

After another tight competition, New Ross & District

added another All Ireland title to their portfolio.

Tullylagan were the runners up,

with Syerla & District finishing in third place.

Playing on home ground, Colmcille from Derry took fourth.

Perhaps the farthest travelled visitors to this year's

All Ireland are the Scotch College Band from Melbourne, Australia.

They're on a tour of Europe and paid a visit to the Maiden City

on their way to the World Championships.

It's only once in a lifetime that you really get

this sort of opportunity to come over to a country

and a culture that prides itself on pipes and drums

and, you know, I took the opportunity

and I really, really am starting to experience the culture

and I love it here.

Will, your first time in Ireland,

what are your thoughts on the competition here?

Oh, it's a lot different to what we have in Australia.

There's a lot more people here.

There's just so many more stalls

and a lot of high-quality bands, which we're just not used to seeing.

It's really good to see them up close and personal.

How important is it for you guys

as a band in down Australia to experience this?

Yeah, it's really important to us, even if we want to come back here

just to get the whole culture

and see that it's a lot different to what we have in Australia,

with bigger bands, and a lot more people participating.

And the Scotch College Band received a warm welcome from the Derry crowd

as they took their place in the competition ring -

the perfect way to start our round up

of the Grade 4 Championships.

PIPE BAND PLAYS

'The Scots College Pipes and Drums from Australia...'

At the end of a keen contest,

the popular Australian visitors came very close to taking

the Grade 4a title back to Melbourne,

winning second place overall and taking the prizes

for the Best Bass Section and for Marching and Deportment.

There was more a local success as Tullintrain from Claudy

won the Grade 4a title.

Marlacoo and Cullybackey took the other two places.

In Grade 4b, Raphoe won another close competition,

with Battlehill taking second place.

St Patrick's from Bandon were third and Ballydonaghy fourth.

That brings our All Ireland highlights to a close.

Well done to our winners

and good luck to our bands travelling to Scotland

to compete in the World Championships.

Of course if you can't make it to Glasgow,

don't forget you can catch the action from the Grade 1 arena

live on the BBC website.

But for now, from all of us here in the City of Culture, bye-bye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd