About Downshire Brass

Downshire Brass is based in Belfast and is one of Northern Ireland’s leading championship section brass bands. Formed more than 30 years ago from two of the oldest established brass bands in Ireland, Downshire enjoys considerable success as a contesting and concert band. The band has a vibrant youth band and a number of smaller ensembles including the Ulster Rugby Band which performs regularly at the Kingspan stadium in Belfast.

The Band strives to include something for everyone in a repertoire which ranges from traditional brass band marches, through ‘big band’ numbers, to the classics and popular music. Downshire Brass has won a number of prizes for its entertaining programmes including winning performances at the Festival of Brass contest in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015, and contest and solo prizes in competitions in Scotland and Ireland in recent years.

The band won the First Section of the inaugural Cory Online Brass Band Championship and has created numerous online performances over the last year. In May 2015 Downshire had the huge honour of representing Northern Ireland at the European Brass Band Championships in Freiburg, Germany and will travel to Birmingham in May 2022 to take part in the European Brass Band Championships. Read about the history of the band here.