The Lochnell Intermediate Piping Competition is organised by the Argyllshire Gathering Trust and was held on Saturday, October 10, 2026. The overall champion was Thomas Fallon, 19, with a second place in the Piobaireachd and a third place in the MSR. Thomas won £200 and was presented with the Lochnell Championship Cup and Bronze Star presented by the Royal Scottish Pipers’ Society
Thomas is originally from Edinburgh where he attended Stewart’s Melville College and was under the tuition of Pipe Major Peter MacGregor and privately by Cameron Drummond. He now resides in Glasgow where he is beginning his 2nd year studying traditional music: piping at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where he is taught by Margaret Houlihan. He is a member of Northern Ireland’s Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band where he is going into his second season with the band.
Last year’s overall champion Magnus Stone, 18, from the US, won the piobaireachd title again this year receiving The Jimmy McIntosh MBE Memorial Trophy presented by Mrs Joyce McIntosh and £120. Magnus is from Massachusetts, and has been playing the bagpipes since he was 11 years old. He has been a musician and piper for 7 years, and studies under instructors Callum Beaumont and Glenn Brown. Aside from traditional competition, Magnus also composes and records music for a variety of instruments. He was deeply grateful to be invited back for a second appearance at the Lochnell competition.
Piobaireachd
- Magnus Stone
- Thomas Fallon
- Liam Nicolson
- Malachi Johannsen
Chris McCartan from Lochgilphead in Argyll was the winner of the MSR, receiving £120 and a prize presented by McCallum Bagpipes of the William McCallum Snr. Memorial Chanter. Chris began his piping tuition at school with Stuart Liddell, alongside private tuition from Rod Buchanan and Iain Campbell. He is entering his fourth year of the piping degree at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where he has received tuition from Willie McCallum and more recently, Finlay Johnston. As well as competing in the solo circuit, Chris has been a member of Inveraray and District Pipe Band for the past four years.
MSR
- Chris McCartan
- Kyle Cameron
- Thomas Fallon
- Andrew Pattison
The other competitors were Douglas Baird, Kyle Cameron, Malachi Johannsen, Liam Nicolson and Andrew Pattison. The judges were Dr Jack
Taylor, Angus D MacColl and Robert Wallace.
The event is hosted at Lochnell Castle at Benderloch, Argyll with permission of the Earl of Dundonald and hosted by his son Archie, Lord Cochrane. The event is sponsored by Dungallon Country House Hotel, The Piobaireachd Society, McCallum Bagpipes and RSPS.