As a Pipe Major from Ottawa, Andrew Hayes has led the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) Pipe Band to past championships at the Grade 2 and 4 levels, and also led them to success in other grades over the years. But his historic achievements in the annals of world class piping lie in solo work, as well.
As a Canadian, he is one of the few to have won both of Scotland’s most coveted contests, the Highland Society of London Gold Medals at the Northern Meeting in 2010 and the Argyllshire Gathering in 2019. Akin to being named the world champion in solo bagpiping, he owes much to his legendary father and first teacher, OPS Pipe Major Patrick Hayes, whose 50th anniversary Ottawa Branch PPBSO biography appeared earlier in this series.
Thank you to D/M Brad Hampson, Ottawa Police Service & RCMP Pipe Bands for writing this article!