Kiwi bands elect Kernaghan to RNZPBA Board

Member bands of the Royal New Zealand Pipe Bands’ Association have elected Liam Kernaghan to the organization’s Board of Directors. Kernaghan has served as the association’s Promotions Group Leader since early 2022.

Just in his early thirties, the Auckland-based Kernaghan is an accomplished competing solo and pipe band piper on the RNZPBA’s National Adjudication Panel with piping and ensemble accreditation. He ran for election to New Zealand’s national parliament in 2020 and is currently the Australasia representative for the Competing Pipers Association and the Head of Government Affairs for Chorus, New Zealand’s largest wholesale telecommunications infrastructure company.

“Liam will bring a fresh outlook and new energy to the Board, and I know he is deeply committed to improving the pipe band scene here in New Zealand,” said RNZPBA President Iain Blakeley. “I look forward to working with Liam, Stu McHale and our Management Group to navigate the opportunities we have in the pipe band community. I want to thank Liam and Scott Mitchell for putting their names forward for the board role and giving our members a choice from two high calibre candidates and a real say in how their Association is led.”

Kernaghan said: “It’s an honour and privilege to have the opportunity to serve a movement that has given me and so many others a lot. The chance to ‘give back’ is one I don’t take lightly and I want to thank the bands for their trust and confidence in me.”

Check out pipes|drums’ November 14, 2023, interview with Liam Kernaghan: