History of the Band

Founded in August of 2001, the Colum Cille Pipes & Drums membership includes veteran musicians as well as beginners. From the band’s inception, its founders had certain goals in mind. First, members of the band did not want to be identified as only a Scottish or Irish pipe band. Instead, the band chose to be an organization that welcomed people of all backgrounds and performed music from a variety of genres, including Gaelic and American.

Additionally, Colum Cille Pipes & Drums wanted to form a band whose goal was to teach both adults and children to play the great highland bagpipes and drums as well as improve musically by competing regularly throughout New England. In Colum Cille’s first-ever pipe band competition at the New Hampshire Highland Games, the band’s drum corps placed 2nd out of 15 bands. The band’s return to the N.H. Highland Games in September 2007 resulted in an over-all band finish of 6th place out of 15 Grade 5 bands. In 2008, Colum Cille placed 2nd at the N.H. Indoor Games, 1st at the R.I. Highland Scottish Festival, 1st at the Maine Highland Games, and 1st at the N.H. Highland Games. In 2009, the band was promoted to Grade 4 and completed two competitions, placing 1st at the R.I. Highland Scottish Festival and 5th out of 13 bands at the N.H. Highland Games. The band competed in Grade 4B at the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland in 2011 and 2017, and is returning to the Glasgow Green to compete in 2027! The band had it's best season in Grade 4 in 2013, and continues to compete at that level. In 2025, we were excited to present a Grade 5 competition band in the circle (and we did well!). For the last two years, the drum corps won the Drum Salute Challenge at the N.H. Highland Games.

Colum Cille stays busy year-round by playing all sorts of gigs, many of which we have played for the duration of our tenure. Some of our reoccurring gigs include but are not limited to; Harpoon Brewery's St Patrick's Festival, Mashpee Christmas Parade, Provincetown Portuguese Festival, and Chatham First Night. We love Cape Cod, but we are fortunate to be invited to events throughout New England.