Field Marshal Montgomery rakes in eight out of eight firsts to take first Heart o’ Down Championship

 Newcastle, Northern Ireland – August 6, 2022 – The inaugural Heart o’ Down Pipe Band Championships at Donard Park in Newcastle saw three Grade 1 bands vie for the title and ultimately it was Field Marshal Montgomery that took the trophy with eight first-place rankings from the eight judges across two events. Ravara continued their solid 2022 campaign with straight firsts as well in Grade 2. Several bands played up a grade in the Grade 2 event, while Grade 2 Manorcunningham had entered to play in the Grade 1 events but elected not to.

Grade1
Medley
1st Field Marshal Montgomery (1,1,1,1)
2nd St. Laurence O’Toole (2,2,2,2)
3rd Closkelt (3,3,3,3)
Judges: Ken Eller, Mark Faloon (piping); Gordon Parkes (drumming); Nat Russell (ensemble)

MSR
1st Field Marshal Montgomery (1,1,1,1)
2nd St. Laurence O’Toole (2,2,2,2)
3rd Closkelt (3,3,3,3)
Judges: Donald MacPhee, Colin Moffet (piping); Harry Russell (drumming); Jim Baxter (ensemble)

Grade 2 (medley)
1st Ravara (1,1,1,1)
2nd Manorcunningham (2,2,2,2)
3rd St. Mary’s Derrytrasna (4,3,5,3)
4th Matt Boyd Memorial (Gr3a) (5,5,3,4)
5th Clogher & District (Gr3a) (3,6,4,5)
6th Colmcille (Gr3a) (6,4,6,6)
Judges: Ken Eller, Mark Faloon (piping); Gordon Parkes (drumming); Nat Russell (ensemble)