Band News Archive (from Front Page)
January 10, 2014
Bushmills Irish Pipers will Remain in Grade 3
After extensive discussion between the band leadership and the WUSPBA Music Board, it has been decided that the Irish Pipers will remain in Grade 3 for 2014.
October 19, 2013
Bushmills Irish Pipers Grade 3 Elevated to Grade 2
After over 80 years in existence, the Irish Pipers organization will field a Grade 2 competition band for the first time in 2014. The Irish Pipers will be one of only two Grade 2 bands in the the Western United States Pipe Band Association. The Prince Charles Pipe Band Grade 3, also of San Francisco, has been similarly upgraded to Grade 2 for 2014. We congratulate PCPB and look forward to continuing our Bay Area rivalry at a new level.
The Irish Pipers thank all of our friends, family, and fans for your continuing support!
May 2012
Photo by Martin Rosen
Happy 75th Birthday, Golden Gate Bridge!
Sunday May 27, 2012 - The Irish Pipers play at the Golden Gate Bridge's Anniversary celebration, 75 years after playing at its opening in 1937.
September 2011
Irish Pipers Sweep Pleasanton!
The Irish Pipers Band organization enjoyed unprecedented success this Labor Day weekend at the 146th annual Caledonian Club of San Francisco Highland Games in Pleasanton, sweeping every band competition entered.
The "Bushmills Irish Pipers" were announced as the winners of the Grade 5 Quick March Medley contests on both Saturday and Sunday, as well as Saturday's Grade 3 MSR and Sunday's Grade 3 Timed Medley.
The Caledonian Club Games played host to the largest Grade 3 band competition in the Western United States this year with six bands entered, including bands from as far as Utah and Canada.
 The games in Pleasanton mark the end of the Irish Pipers Bands' competitive year.
The weekend's wins complete the Irish Pipers' perfect season in Grade 5, having taken first in every Grade 5 contest entered in 2011.
The perfect weekend is the perfect prelude to the 2012 season, which will see the debut of the new Irish Pipers Grade 4 band.
The Grade 4 band will join the existing Grades 3 and 5 bands, making the Irish Pipers one of the largest multi-level competitive pipe band organizations in the Western United States.
April 2011
Spring Update
2011 is off to a great start! Our fundraiser raffle was a huge success, and we would like to thank everyone who participated by buying a ticket. The proceeds from the raffle will go a long way towards covering our growing operating expenses: uniforms for new members, transportation of equipment, instrument maintainence, etc.
Our favorite time of the year, St. Patrick's Day season, was as packed as ever. The Irish Pipers Band performed over 30 times between the end of February and the end of March! And once again, we were the 1st place Pipe Band in the San Francisco St. Patrick's Day Parade.
 Competition season is well underway, and the Irish Pipers have already competed at two large venues, the first at the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, and the second at Tule Springs in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Grade 3 band won the Timed Medley contest at the Queen Mary for the second year in a row. The Grade 5 band has also made impressive showings at both venues, and even placed in the Grade 4 competition in Las Vegas!
Several members have also been competing individually. Andrew Ryan, Wes Weber, Wendy Young, Michael LeBoeuf, and Steve Harrington have already won events this year.
Our next competition venue will be the Sacramento Valley Scottish Games, Saturday May 7th. Watch out, the Irish are coming!
January-March 2011
Win a Trip to the Caribbean!
Participate in the Irish Pipers Spring 2011 Raffle!
You could win a one-week vacation to the Virgin Islands, an evening of fine dining with a professional chef & a whisky master, and much more!
Tickets are $25 each and are tax-deductible.
There are only 400 tickets, so hurry and get yours today!
The public prize drawing will take place Monday, March 14th at Johnny Foley's Irish House, 9pm.
See our Raffle page for the full list of prizes and details.
Raffle Sponsors
Our Spring 2011 Raffle is made possible by the generous donations of the following businesses and individuals. Thank you!
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The De Roulet Family |
Ian Sharp |
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September 2010
Pipes, Drums, Whiskey, and Pleasanton!
 The Bushmills Irish Pipers had a great showing at the Caledonian Club of San Francisco�s annual Highland Games in Pleasanton this past Labor Day weekend (September 4-5). After this final weekend of our competitive season, both competition bands have successes to boast about. The Grade 5 band took 2nd and 3rd overall on Saturday and Sunday�s Quick March Medley contests (respectively), and the drummers were deemed the best drum corps by Saturday�s Grade 5 drumming judge! In Grade 3, the Irish Pipers finished a respectable 4th in Saturday�s MSR contest, followed by an even better 1st in Sunday�s Timed Medley contest, preserving the Irish Pipers Grade 3 Medley�s status as undefeated in 2010! Both the Grade 5 and the Grade 3 competitions contained eight bands.
 But the Bushmills Brotherhood isn�t all about competing. The entire band also had a blast performing for our sponsor, BushmillsTM Irish Whiskey, at the Whisky Live! tasting at the games both days. Without the generous and ongoing support of BushmillsTM, our success this year would not be possible. Additionally, we would like to thank all of the friends and family members who came out to support the band over the weekend and throughout the entire competition season. We hope to see you all again next year. Sláinte!
April 2010
Viva Las Vegas!
After a long and dry weekend in the desert, the Bushmills Irish Pipers returned from their first ever trip to the Las Vegas Highland Games (April 17-18) with a couple more victories under their belts. The Grade 5 band took 1st in Saturday's Quick March Medley contest, the first sanctioned Grade 5 band contest in the Western United States! The Grade 3 band also grabbed a win in Vegas, in Sunday's Timed Medley competition.
 In addition to the group victories, several members of the Bushmills Irish Pipers also saw success in the various solo contests. Congratulations to pipers Wes Weber (1st in Gr.4 Slow Air), Wendy Young (1st in Gr.4 6/8 March), Vince Guinnane (2nd in Gr.4 2/4 March), Suzan Karayel (3rd in Gr.3 2/4 March, 3rd in Gr.3 Strathspey & Reel), and Michael LeBoeuf (3rd in Gr.2 Hornpipe & Jig).
Starting in 2011, the Las Vegas Highland Games will expand into the Las Vegas International Celtic Festival, which will feature a new international, invitational pipe band championship, consisting of all of the best bands from North America and many from overseas. We'll see you there next year!
February 2010
Competition Season Starts with a Bang!
 The Bushmills Irish Pipers kicked off the 2010 competition season in style on the R.M.S. Queen Mary in Long Beach over President's Day Weekend. Both bands had been working hard in the off season and it paid off over the weekend. The Grade 3 band took 1st in the Timed Medley competition on Saturday and 1st again in Sunday�s March, Strathspey, & Reel (MSR) contest. The newly re-formed Grade 5 band also had its first weekend out, playing up in the Grade 4 division and, despite the apparent handicap, earning a very respectable 3rd on Saturday in the Timed Medley, and 4th on Sunday in the Quick March Medley, in a field of 8 bands!
 In addition to band honors, a couple of Irish Pipers were also spotted on the individual competition prize lists. Pipe Major Michael LeBoeuf came out of solo retirement to take 2nd in the Grade 2 Hornpipe & Jig contest, while Pipe Sergeant Suzan Karayel competed at the Grade 3 level and took 1st in both the 2/4 March and the Strathspey & Reel, sweeping the light music competition and winning a signature edition McCallum solo chanter!
Overall, it was a great first weekend and a great way to start the year! The band is looking forward to improving even more as the season progresses.
January 2010
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Goodbye, Bob Baker
Wednesday January 27th, 2010
For those of you who had not heard, Bob Baker passed away in his sleep early this morning. He was surrounded by his daughters and close family.
Thank you Bob, 43+ years of dedicated service to the Irish Pipers Band of San Francisco and 50+ to the Irish Community.
Funeral arrangements are being made. Details will be posted as soon as they are available.
Michael
Funeral Service Information
Tuesday February 2nd, 11:00am
Saint Anne of the Sunset Catholic Church
840 Judah Street
San Francisco, CA 94122
415-665-1600
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Bob Baker (1929-2010)
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October 2009
Whisky Live Los Angeles
Brandon Wise / Santa Monica Daily Press
Tuesday October 20th, 2009 - The Bushmills Irish Pipers entertain the crowd (and rep their sponsor!) during the Whisky Live tasting event at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.
February 2009
The Chieftains in San Francisco
Friday February 20th, 2009 - Pipe Major Mike LeBoeuf pictured with Kevin Conneff, Paddy Moloney, and Matt Molloy of The Chieftains at the Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. More photos ...
June 2008
Band Mourns Loss of Ron McGlashan
A Memorial service for Ron McGlashan will be held Thursday, June 26, 7:00pm at St. Annes of the Sunset in San Francisco. Directly following the service will be a celebration "Wake" of Rons life at the United Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco. Food, Music, Irish Dance, Bagpipes, and full bar will be available.
www.stanne-sf.org
www.irishcentersf.org
Ron McGlashan (1947 - 2008)
The Irish Pipers of San Francisco is mourning the loss of Our Beloved Drum Major, Ron McGlashan. He passed away last night at about 10:44 pm peacefully his friends Alex, Marcia, Norman his brother and John his nephew were there. Father Gould came again to pray. Sacraments were given the night before. All tubes but the small breathing tube were removed.
Ron requested earlier that he wanted a strawberry milkshake and a Coke. We gave him a taste of coke. Alex stopped at Mel's dinner on the way to the hospital got the Deluxe Shake with all the works. Ron just loved it. He had his Amazing Grace playing with the bagpipes in the background.
Funeral arrangements will be made this morning. Please pass the word along.
Michael
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