Gaelic Society of Toronto resurrects Young Pipers contest

The 128-year-old Comunn Gàidhlig Thoronto / Gaelic Society of Toronto has announced that its long dormant and once popular Young Pipers Championship will be restarted with a contest on October 24, 2015, at Moss Park Armoury in the city’s downtown.

To be held in the 48th Highlanders Sergeants’ Mess starting at 1 pm, the competition will cater to pipers 21 and younger, in two categories – a medley event for those younger than 21 and a traditional Gaelic air competition for those under 16 – with five prizes and a trophy for each.

The Gaelic Society had held junior piping competitions for many years, often attended by local leading lights such as John Wilson, Reay Mackay, and Chris Anderson.

“One of our priorities was to resurrect the Young Pipers Championship and we’ve been fortunate to have the support and guidance of Michael Grey in this effort, along with Hector MacDonald of the Toronto Police Pipe Band [and] Chris Macaulay Bateman,” said Trish MacNeil, Events Coordinator for Comunn Gàidhlig Thoronto. “We aim to host a quality event that our young pipers can be excited about and that will deliver value to them, along with an encouragement to other potential young pipers by providing them with this opportunity.”

The competition will be followed by a ceilidh in the evening.

The city of Toronto was settled largely by Scottish immigrants, many of whom were Gaelic speakers, and the society works to keep Gaelic language and tradition alive with regular meetings and social events.