Lorna from Ballymoney travels to America to take part in the Virginia International Tattoo, and Rod from Winnipeg explores his Ulster-Scots ancestry in Northern Ireland.
We follow Lorna from Ballymoney, who travels to America for the first time to take part in the Virginia International Tattoo, Andrew from Ballygowan, who has made a career from his passion for piping in Pittsburgh, and Rod from Winnipeg, who traces his Ulster-Scots ancestry on a visit to Northern Ireland.
A native of Ballymoney, County Antrim, Lorna Archibald is bass drummer with Major Sinclair Memorial Pipe Band and proud of her Ulster-Scots identity. Eager to challenge gender stereotypes, she swaps her bass drum for boxing gloves and holds her own in the ring.
Lorna and her colleagues in the band travel to Norfolk, Virginia, to participate in the Virginia International Tattoo. For Lorna, it’s her first visit to America, and an experience of a lifetime.
While Lorna and her colleagues are taking part in the Tattoo, Andrew Carlisle is busy working behind scenes as artistic director of the event. Andrew grew in the village of Ballygowan and played with the award-winning Field Marshall Montgomery Pipe Band. Today he is one of the world’s leading solo pipers and has made his passion his career, working as director of piping at the Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he also leads the university’s pipe band.
Winnipeg is the capital of the Canadian province of Manitoba and home to Rod Christie. A carpenter and piper with the Winnipeg Police Pipe Band, Rod is keen to find out more about his Ulster-Scots ancestry. On a visit to Northern Ireland to play with his band in the Belfast International Tattoo, Rod takes time out to explore his family’s roots, tracing how his grandfather joined the RAF during World War II and was posted to Canada, where he eventually settled. It’s an experience that leaves Rod proud of his Ulster-Scots heritage.
