1990s
In 1991, the St. Laurence O'Toole won the coveted Ulster Championships, becoming the first band from the Republic of Ireland ever to do so and also take the Grade One event at the Pitlochry Games in Scotland.
Recognising the quality of their musical standard, the Irish government invited O'Toole's to the World Expo '92 in Seville, Spain along with such groups as The Chieftains. 1992 also saw the band gain a 4th prize at the Cowal Championships in Dunoon.
O'Toole's suffer from the same problem as many Irish bands - lack of players to compete at the highest level. The IPBA only has 50-60 pipe bands spread over 26 counties ( i.e. approx. 24,000 square miles). Players in the band sometimes have to make round trips of over 200 miles to practice, at their own expense. This is a logistics problem that is not easily solved.
Read more about this topic: St. Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band