Isle of Man
In the early eighties Andy decided to travel bi-annually to Dublin in order to support Scotland against Ireland, in the former Five Nations Rugby Championships (now Six Nations).
Armed with no more than his charm and a set of pipes he aimed to entertain anyone who happened to be around. Result irrelevant!! In recent years Andy has invited Dave, Iain and some others to join in this pilgrimage to the Fair City.
Performances have included official invites to the Allied Irish Bank Worldwide Headquarters and playing at various rugby matches, including the Scotland 'A' v Ireland 'A' rugby match, on the night preceeding the major International match and at the annual Glasgow Insurers Rugby Team v's Dublin Insurers Rugby Team. As ever there was some unofficial playing on the roads to and from Landsdowne Road, then in various Dublin pubs and clubs. Our fondest memories include playing with club and street samba bands and being entertained by an 'old boys choir' in the Trinity Bar. A major coup was when Iain was asked to play under the posts for a large photo-call after the 1999 match (or drubbing as it was termed).
Time spent in watering holes such as O'Donaghue's continues to be a major part of the weekend calendar. The variety of people we meet never ceases to amaze us, some of whom in turn invite us to an array of interesting venues around the globe.
In February 1999 one such gentleman, who was over from Chicago, on a mission to discover the secrets of Irish Pub Culture, commented 'I'm setting up my own pub in Chicago, next time your passing come and stay!'. He received the quick and not unsurprising response 'See you in May'.
This relationship and others have developed over the years and formed a platform for the band to travel to a number of venues, not least breaking into the United States market three years ahead of the original target date. (See Chicago section)
The bi-annual visits have dried up a little over the past couple of years, but it is hoped that they will return to the calendar at some point soon.