Millstreet Pipe Band to Mark 75 Year With Massed Band Parade
Millstreet Pipe Band will celebrate its 75th anniversary this Saturday, 3 October, with a special massed band parade through Millstreet, Co. Cork.
The band will be joined by seven visiting pipe bands – Tralee Pipes & Drums, Cullen Pipe Band, Killorglin & District Pipe Band, Thomas Davis Pipe Band, Ballyphehane Pipe Band, Newmarket Pipe Band and Ballingeary Pipe Band. Members of Youghal Pipe Band, City of Limerick Pipe Band and Cashel Pipe Band will also be represented, with additional pipers and drummers joining the celebration.
The parade will begin at West End at 7pm, travelling through the town to the Square, where the massed band will perform a further selection of tunes. Local clubs, organisations and schools will also take part.
Explore the Fleadh Results Archive
70 Years of Results • 1957–Present • Updated Every Year
Discover historical All-Ireland and Ulster Fleadh marching band results, previous winners, competition records and statistics from over 70 years of competition.
The anniversary marks three quarters of a century since the foundations of the Millstreet band were laid in 1951.
From humble beginnings
The origins of the band can be traced to 5 January 1951, when the first piping lessons were held in the Minor Row Hall. Garda Ned Coffey and Neilly Murphy of Cullen were among those who helped establish the band, with Cork City piper Seamus Long subsequently travelling to Millstreet to teach aspiring musicians.
The early years were a significant achievement for a community where there was no centrally located hall for music-making. Local musicians had previously learned tunes wherever they could, including on windowsills.
The band’s first official engagement came on St Patrick’s Day 1952, beginning a relationship with the local community which has continued for more than seven decades.
Its early development was supported by a number of individuals who would become closely associated with the organisation. The inaugural officers included Con Corcoran as chairman, John O’Keeffe as vice-chairman, Con Tarrant as secretary, Liam O’Driscoll as treasurer and Edmund Coffey as chief organiser.
One of the band’s earliest major engagements outside Millstreet came in 1955, when it performed in Newcastle West, Co. Limerick, in the presence of President Seán T. O’Kelly.
The following year saw the beginning of another long-standing association, with the band performing at the Munster Senior Football Championship in Cork. Its connection with major sporting occasions in Munster has continued ever since.
A familiar sight at major events
Millstreet Pipe Band has become particularly associated with the Rose of Tralee Festival, maintaining an unbroken association with the event for decades.
The band has also performed at Munster GAA finals, local Duhallow finals and the annual Michael Collins commemoration at Béal na Bláth, among numerous community events across Munster.
In 2026, the band was also among those involved in welcoming the victorious Cork camogie team to St Finbarr’s GAA grounds.
The organisation continues to provide opportunities for young people and adults to learn piping and drumming. Earlier this year, the band invited new members aged 10 and upwards to join, with tuition, uniforms, instruments and transport to events supported by the band.
The anniversary celebrations therefore mark not simply 75 years since the band was founded, but a long-standing role in the musical and community life of Millstreet.
A return to the massed bands of the past
Saturday’s parade will also have a historical significance for the town.
Millstreet Pipe Band says the last occasion on which a significant number of pipe bands gathered to play in the town was around 1957, during the An Tóstal celebrations.
Almost 70 years later, the sight and sound of eight bands parading together through the town will therefore recreate something that has not been seen in Millstreet for generations.
Following the parade, celebrations will continue at the Bush Bar, with music from Comhaltas and The Kelts. Former members of Millstreet Pipe Band and their families have also been specially invited to attend.
The anniversary provides an opportunity for the current generation of musicians to celebrate alongside those who helped build the band over its 75-year history.
Millstreet Pipe Band’s 75th Anniversary Massed Band Parade takes place on Saturday, 3 October at 7pm.