Frank McCabe

I started learning on the practice chanter in 1947 at the age of 13, being fortunate enough to have had the late P/M Lawrie Georgeson of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders as tutor.

From 1948-52 I was pipe sgt. in the successful competing juvenile band of St. Columba's, Viewpark. I continued as p/sgt. when they became a Grade III adult band in 1953 until its demise in 1961. During this period the band won many prizes notably a 1st at Cowal in 1955.

Following this, I was invited to join the Hoover band in Cambuslang under P/M George Clark (1961-69) then Eddie MacLellan (1969-72). In 1972 I was appointed P/M of the band which, for most of the next 16 years remained a Grade II outfit mainly due to drumming resources. As a result of this, we took a year out of competition in 1985 when I ran a Piobaireach class within the band circle to give interested members an insight into the 'big music'. The band eventually folded in 1988 and so I started up a piping group, the forerunner of today's organisation. Around this time too, I compiled a collection of hitherto unpublished arrangements and compositions called "Some Light Music for the Bagpipe".

In 1994 I returned to the pipe band scene as P/M of the Grade IV Textile World (Rutherglen) and continued as such until 1998 before resurrecting the piping group which exists today.

Looking back to 1972 when I became P/M of Hoover and due to the lack of decent supply sources, I started to make practice, pipe chanter and cane drone reeds and this has continued ever since. For a time I also made hide pipe bags which had unique internal stitched seams and in recent years I have also developed :
1) A new drone reed called 'The Hybrid' which has the traditional cane barrel and a reversed synthetic tongue.
2) Drone stock 'Air Restrictors'.

The group continues to grow and the group's repertoire contains several of my own compositions.