Lisburn's Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band crowned champions

Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band celebrating their victory in Glasgow

A band from Northern Ireland has won the World Pipe Band championships.

More than 30,000 people gathered at Glasgow Green to watch 8,000 pipers take part in nine hours of fierce competition.

The winners, Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band from Lisburn, were runners-up at last year's championships and scooped the title in 2006 and 2007.

This year's win makes them the most successful pipe band in history.

They now hold a total of seven world championship titles.

David Scott from the Northern Ireland branch of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association said it was a fantastic achievement

"You could feel the buzz in the air. You could hear the Northern Ireland folk really supporting them, which was quite nice," he said.

"It's good that Northern Ireland can claim to have a trio of top golfers, but we have also got the best pipe band in the world."

'Privilege'

The runners up were Simon Fraser University from Canada, with third place going to Scottish Power.

The event, which has been held in Glasgow for more than 60 years, drew its audience from all over the world.

This year 230 bands took part with performances starting early on Saturday morning.

Chieftain of the event, Glasgow Lord Provost Bob Winter, said: "It was a great privilege to be chieftain and I've enjoyed many wonderful performances.

"The worlds are a major event for the city and so many people travelled here for these championships and they have enjoyed a day that will live long in the memory."

Ian Embelton, from the organisers the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, added: "Every year the standard of competition is so high but this year we have seen something extra special.

"Planning for next year is already under way but we are going to have to pull out all the stops to improve on these championships."

The championships are organised by Glasgow Life on behalf of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association and Glasgow City Council and are supported by EventScotland, Scottish Enterprise and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau.