Ardmore Cup gets big backing from Sullivan’s Brewing

The Ardmore Cup Invitational Solo Piping Competition has welcomed in the New Year by signing a sponsorship deal with Sullivan’s Brewing Company as a gold-level sponsor for the second annual contest on February 24th in Ardmore, County Waterford, Ireland.

According to competition organizer Eric Stein, the company will provide financial support and product at the Round Tower Hotel, the venue for the Friday Freestyle event. Sullivan’s products will also be available at Keever’s Pub, the venue for the after-contest session.

“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome the Sullivan Brewing Company to the world of solo piping,” Stephen Power of Sullivan’s said. “What could be more fun than combining the ancient sounds of the bagpipes with the award-winning tastes of Ireland’s oldest brewery?”

The Ardmore Cup was launched last February by Stein and a group based in Ardmore. The contest was inspired by the success of Stein’s Sun Belt Invitational Solo Piping Competition in Florida, won last November by Nova Scotia’s Bruce Gandy, who also gained an invite to the 2024 Ardmore.

Apart from Gandy, competitors for the Ardmore Cup are still to be announced. Crieff, Scotland’s Connor Sinclair won the event’s first edition.

Callum Beaumont of St. Andrew’s, Scotland, won the first Sun Belt in 2022.

Sullivan’s is Ireland’s oldest commercial brewery. The company started in 1702 with maltings on James’s Street, ironically in Kilkenny City. The company does not produce the well-known Kilkenny brand, which is owned by the massive brewing and distilling conglomerate Diageo.

Power added that Sullivan’s is “poised to become Ireland’s next great export,” currently shipping products to more than 17 countries and all 50 states in the USA.

Makers of alcoholic beverages are frequent sponsors of piping and drumming contests and events. William Grant & Sons is the most prominent, underwriting the Glenfiddich Solo Piping Championships and several other high-profile events. Springbank Distillery is the title sponsor of the major invitational solo piping contest in Campbeltown, Scotland.