Tullylagan Pipe Band was formed in 1923, two years after the creation of Northern Ireland, by a group of men from the local Ulster Special Constabulary. The band came from the small townland of Tullylagan, close to Cookstown, and has remained closely tied to the Mid Ulster community ever since.

One of the band’s landmark achievements came in 1962, under Pipe Major Norman McCutcheon, with guidance from Tommy Green, when Tullylagan became the first band from outside Scotland to win a World Pipe Band Championship title. That was a serious bit of history, not just a shiny trophy for the mantelpiece.

Over the decades, Tullylagan built a reputation for consistency, community spirit and strong competition performances across the grades. Its centenary in 2023 was marked with a concert at the Burnavon Theatre in Cookstown and the launch of Tullylagan Pipe Band 1923-2023, a book by Trevor Hassin documenting the band’s formation, local role and contest achievements.

Today, Tullylagan continues as an active competing and teaching organisation, with senior, development and youth bands. The band lists itself as established in 1923, based in Cookstown, and competing in Grade 2 and Grade 4B, with an all-year development programme for beginners.

A century on, Tullylagan remains one of Northern Ireland’s notable pipe band names: local roots, world-title history, and enough staying power to make a bass drone jealous.