{"id":18933,"date":"2025-04-14T10:13:07","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T10:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/18933\/"},"modified":"2025-04-14T10:13:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T10:13:07","slug":"st-marks-silver-band-portadown-crowned-northern-ireland-band-of-the-year-2025-armagh-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/18933\/","title":{"rendered":"St Mark\u2019s Silver Band Portadown crowned Northern Ireland Band of the Year 2025 \u2013 Armagh I"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1000\" height=\"657\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/L-R-Rachel-Gilpin-Jessie-Weir-and-Lucy-Sterritt-accepting-award-from-Brass-Band-Northern-Ireland-Pre.webp\" class=\"attachment- size- wp-post-image\" alt=\"L-R Rachel Gilpin, Jessie Weir and Lucy Sterritt accepting award from Brass Band Northern Ireland President Mr Bill Caughey.\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tL-R Rachel Gilpin, Jessie Weir and Lucy Sterritt accepting award from Brass Band Northern Ireland President Mr Bill Caughey. <\/p>\n<p>St Mark\u2019s Silver Band, <a href=\"https:\/\/armaghi.com\/category\/news\/portadown-news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Portadown<\/a>, have been awarded the Northern Ireland Band of the Year 2025. <\/p>\n<p>The band received the esteemed Brass Band Northern Ireland Haughton Cup for Musical Proficiency over the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>This prestigious accolade marks a significant milestone in the band\u2019s history, as it was last presented to St Mark\u2019s in 1998. <\/p>\n<p>The award recognises not only musical excellence but also the dedication, teamwork, and spirit that define their band.<\/p>\n<p>The band were especially honoured to receive the trophy from the President of Brass Band Northern Ireland (BBNI), Mr. Bill Caughey, who is also a former conductor of the band \u2013 making the moment even more meaningful for all involved.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron Watson, Chairperson, said: \u201cWe are overwhelmed with pride for every one of our band members, this award is a testament to the tireless work, commitment, and passion shown by our musicians throughout the year. From our youngest learners to our most seasoned players, we are incredibly fortunate to have a band full of people eager to grow, learn, and make music together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA special thank-you goes to our Musical Director, Bob Quick, whose leadership, dedication, and vision have played a vital role in our success. His encouragement and musical expertise continue to inspire our band to reach new heights.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSt Mark\u2019s Silver Band extends heartfelt thanks to BBNI for their continued support of brass music in Northern Ireland, and to our community, supporters, and families who have cheered us on every step of the way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we celebrate this tremendous achievement, we look ahead with excitement to the future \u2013 proud of our past, passionate about our present, and inspired for what\u2019s to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If you want to join St Mark\u2019s Silver band, drop them an email at <a href=\"https:\/\/armaghi.com\/news\/portadown-news\/st-marks-silver-band-portadown-crowned-northern-ireland-band-of-the-year-2025\/268363\/mailto:stmarkssilverband@yahoo.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">stmarkssilverband@yahoo.co.uk <\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign Up To Our Newsletter<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMost read today<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"L-R Rachel Gilpin, Jessie Weir and Lucy Sterritt accepting award from Brass Band Northern Ireland President Mr Bill&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[1499,1500,1498,1501,12,1144,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-18933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-armagh-city","9":"tag-breaking-news","10":"tag-county-armagh","11":"tag-latest-news","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-northern-ireland","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114335790166547949","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}