Bruce Gandy wins another round of the Bar; Joe Biggs wins 2025 Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada)

Maxville, Ontario – August 1, 2025 – Bruce Gandy of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, won the Bar to the Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada), and Joe Biggs from Ajax, Ontario,  won the Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada) at the annual piobaireachd competitions held at the St. Michael & All Angels Anglican Church in the small farming community in the eastern part of Canada’s most populous province.

The win was the fifth time Gandy has won the Bar to the Medal, which is reserved for winners of the Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada).

The unsanctioned event was sponsored by the Clan Donald Trust for the Gaelic Performing Arts and is part of the Glengarry Highland Games.

Bar to the Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada) (seven competed)
1st Bruce Gandy, “Lament for the Laird of Anapool” ($3,000)
2nd Ben McClamrock, Bethesda, Maryland, “The Red Speckled Bull” ($2,000)
3rd Ian K. MacDonald, Whitby, Ontario, “The Phantom Piper of Corrieyairack” ($1,000)
Judges: Ed Bush, Ian Duncan, Colin MacLellan

Also competing: Daniel Carr, Collingwood, Ontario, “Mary’s Praise”; Jacob Dicker, Maxville, Ontario, “Lament for Patrick Og MacCrimmon”; Andrew Hayes, Nepean, Ontario, “Lament for the Harp Tree;” and James MacHattie, Summerside, Prince Edward Island, “Scarce of Fishing.”

Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada) (nine competed)
1st Joe Biggs, “The Prince’s Salute” ($800)
2nd Andrew Donlon, Washington, DC, “Lady Margaret MacDonald’s Salute” ($500)
3rd Dan Lyden, Timonium, Maryland, “The Stewarts’ White Banner” ($300)
4th Tyler Bridge, Guelph, Ontario, “The Prince’s Salute” ($200)
5th John Bottomley, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, “Lament for the Departure of King James” ($100)
Judges: Ed Bush, Ian Duncan, Colin MacLellan

Also competing: Aiden Bowen, Pickering, Ontario, “The Young Laird of Dungallons’ Salute”; Alan Clark, Finch, Ontario, “A Son’s Salute to His Parents”; Tyler Johnson, Oak Park, Michigan, “Ronald MacDonald of Morar’s Lament”; and Will Shropshire, Durham, North Carolina, “Lament for Ronald MacDonald of Morar.”