The Queensland Irish Association Pipe Band (QIAPB) is one of the oldest pipe bands in Queensland, and the oldest Irish pipe band in Australia. Despite existing in many forms during the late 1800s, the band was first officially formed as the QIAPB in 1898, and has been an institution in Brisbane ever since.

Queensland Irish Association Pipe Band in Brisbane Queensland ca. 1949
Queensland Irish Association Pipe Band in Brisbane, Queensland, ca. 1949
 John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland http://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/248619

Festivals and Parades

Festivals, parades and overseas trips have always been part of the fun of being part of QIAPB.  The band still travels regularly and plays in festivals both in Australia and internationally.
Queensland Irish Association Pipe Band marching in Brisbane Queensland ca. 1950
Queensland Irish Association Pipe Band marching in Brisbane, Queensland, ca. 1950
John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, http://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/248618
The band has played at the following international locations and festivals over the last few decades:
  • Festival Interceltique de Lorient, France: 1985, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016
  • Rose of Tralee Festival, Ireland: 1998, 2008
  • World Championships, Scotland and Ireland: 1978, 1981, 1985
  • New Zealand: 1988, 1990

Competitions

In the past QIAPB was far more competitive, sometimes with two or three bands at the same time. For a time in the 1980s, this included two Grade 1 bands. Notable wins for QIAPB have included:

  • Grade 1, Australian Championships: 1976, 1980 and 1986.
  • Grade 2, World Champion Overseas Band 1978, 1981 and 1985
  • Grade 3, Australian Championships: 1963 and 1970

In Australia QIAPB has also won in Grades 1, 2 and 3 at the New South Wales, Queensland, East Coast, and National Championships too many times to list here.

Internationally QIAPB has won Grade 1 in New Zealand, results as high as 2nd in Scotland and Ireland, won Grade 2 in Scotland, Ireland and New Zealand and won Grade 4 in Scotland.

Major international results include:

Grade 1:
1990 New Zealand Drum Corps Champions, 1st place
1988 New Zealand Drum Corps Champions, 1st place
1978 South East Ireland Championships, 2nd place
Grade 2:
1988 New Zealand Champions, 1st place
1985 Cowal Games, 1st place
1985 British Championships, 2nd place
1985 World Championships, 3rd place
1981 Scottish Champion of Champions, 2nd place
1981 Cowal Games, 3rd place
1981 Cowal Games Drum Corps, 3rd place
1981 World Championships Drum Corps, 3rd place
1981 World Championships, 6th place
1978 European Championships, 2nd place
Grade 4:
1985 British Championships, 4th place
1985 Cowal Games, 4th place
1985 World Championships, 5th place

Queensland Irish Association pipe band from State Library of Queensland on Vimeo.

Affiliation with the Queensland Irish Association

The QIAPB were affiliated with the Queensland Irish Association (QIA) on Elizabeth Street in Brisbane, Queensland where we practiced every Wednesday night until the closure of the Queensland Irish Club in 2015.
The QIA was formally established on March 23rd 1898, following the en Masse resignation of the members of the six companies of Queensland Irish Volunteers in the Queensland Land Defence Force. Ex- volunteers combined with the H.A.C.B.S. to found the new Association. The inaugural Secretary was Major P.J. Stephens, former Commandant of the Irish Volunteers. Although there is no direct relationship, the Association can be regarded as a descendant of the Queensland Hibernian Association which was founded in 1871. The principles of this earlier Association are embodied in the QIA’s Constitution.

Irish Heritage

Irish Heritage Cover

Irish Heritage is a photographic and written journey of the Queensland Irish Association Dancers and the Queensland Irish Association Pipe Band.  While this booklet is by no means a definitive history it does provide a fascinating insight through the memories and photographs and information that it brings together.