The Queensland Irish Association Pipe Band

The Queensland IRISH Association Pipe Band has existed under different names and associations since before the turn of the Twentieth Century making it one of the oldest bands in Queensland and the oldest Irish Pipe Band in Australia. The Association formally established on March 23rd 1898, following the resignation, "en Masse" of the members of the 6 Companies of Queensland Irish Volunteers in the Queensland Land Defence Force. Ex-members of the volunteers combined with the H.A.C.B.S. to found the new Association and the Inaugural Secretary was Major P.J. Stephens, former Commandant of the Irish Volunteers. Although there is no direct relationship the Association can be regarded as a descendant of the Queensland Hibernian Association which was founded in 1871 and the principles of the earlier Association are embodied in the Constitution of the Queensland Irish Association.