When the 73rd annual All Ireland Pipe Band Championships were held in County Wexford, Ireland this month, it was the St. Columcille United Gaelic Bagpipe Band that shined brightest in the grade 3B category.
The group may have looked straight out of the Irish countryside, but don't let the kilts fool you: they're from Hudson County.
The group, which is based in Kearny, became the first North American pipe band to win a first place title at the All Ireland competition on July 7.
"We went in to this competition knowing the most we could do was give it our all," said Joe McGonigal, 65, a lifelong Kearny resident and Pipe Major Emeritus of the St. Columcille band. "We were hoping to at least get an honorable mention but when we were announced as the winners, it was like we won the World Cup or the Superbowl."
The St. Columcille Pipe Band was founded in 1949 by Sean McGonigal -- Joe McGonigal's grandfather -- and got its name from the Irish abbot and missionary who lived in the sixth century.
The band's founder was involved in piping in northern New Jersey since 1933 and wanted a pipe band of his own that would share St. Columcille's mission of uniting Gaelic cultures. This would be expressed in the band's motto: "Ar Aghaidh Ie Ceol na n Gael – Forward the Music of the Gael."
"When my grandfather started the band, a lot of the members of the group were Irish immigrants," said Joe McGonigal, who has been involved with the band since he was 9. "My father was one of the rare all-American boys in the group and when I became a part of it, more of us had more than one ethnicity."
The band continues to be a family affair for Joe McGonigal, who performs alongside his three brothers Michael, Kevin, and Sean; his daughters Lorna and Katie; and his nephew Chase. Today, the group has around 50 members, 20 of whom competed at the All Ireland event the town of New Ross.
Bagpipe bands can compete at five different grades, with grade 1 being reserved for the largest of bands with the most experience. The length of performance also varies from grade 1 to grade 5.
The St. Columcille Pipe Band practices at Kearny's First Baptist Church and the Scots American Athletic Club, sometimes twice a week.
This month in Ireland, all that practice paid off.
"It's not a phrase I use often, but it's a dream come true. A lot of us have been members of this pipe band for over 30 or 40 years," Joe McGonigal said. "We've been up and down the prize lists throughout the U.S. and Canada.
"We may not be world champions, but to be champions among the Irish-American community, it's a big freaking deal for us."