Historic hat-trick for CWA Brass at 108th Championship of Ireland

CWA Brass were crowned champions and completed a historic hat trick of titles in the second section at the 108th Championship of Ireland, hosted by the NIBA (North of Ireland Bands Association) in Armagh on Saturday and adjudicated by Richard Marshall.

This is the first time in all 108 years of this contest that a second section band has achieved a hat trick.

The band were also awarded best cornets, best basses and best conductor in the second section for the third year running, rounding off a great day!  The test piece was Modern Times by Etienne Crausaz. 

A lot of hard work went into this piece and the result shows the dedication the band has. Massive thanks to MD Stephen Cairns for his perseverance, musical knowledge and direction. 

The band are also current second section BBNI (Brass Bands Northern Ireland) Spring Festival Champions, second section BBNI Brass in Concert Champions and second section BBNI Band of the Year.  We were additionally awarded best horns (for the second year running) and best soloist (Jackie Moore, Soprano Cornet) at the Spring Festival. Our Principal Cornet James McCabe won the solo prize at Brass in Concert, with the band also picking up the Best March prize.  2026 has been a great year for the band! 

Coming from Carrickfergus we are proud to represent our local town and community in the brass band scene.

We would like to thank everyone who has been part of the CWA Journey so far and look forward to what lies ahead!

We will be out and about performing concerts and carols in various locations in Carrickfergus in the run up to Christmas so keep an eye on our Facebook page https://facebook.com/cwabrass to see where you can hear us!