Skye Camanachd is a

shinty Shinty () is a team sport played with sticks and a ball. It is played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and among Highland migrants to the major cities of Scotland. The sport was formerly more widespread in Scotland and even played in Northern ...

team from the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

, Scotland. It plays in the Premier Division and has a reserve team in North Division One, as well as a Ladies team in the WCA National Division One and a Ladies reserve team in the WCA Development League. The club is based at Pairc nan Laoch,

Portree Portree (; , ) is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.W.H. Murray, Murray, W.H. (1966) ''The Hebrides''. London. Heinemann. Pages 154-155. It is a civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish and lies ...

Early history

Skye had a strong tradition of playing shinty on the Old Celtic New Year, and there were a Portree Club and a Bernisdale Club in existence in the 1880s. However, Skye Camanachd in its present form came into being in 1892, winning the first ever

MacTavish Cup The MacTavish Cup is a knock-out cup competition in the sport of shinty. It is competed for by senior teams from the North of Scotland district. It is one of the five trophies considered to be part of the Grand Slam in the sport of shinty. The cu ...

. The club was a founding member of the

Camanachd Association The Camanachd Association (in Scottish Gaelic, ''Comann na Camanachd'') is the world Sport governing body, governing body of the Scotland, Scottish sport of shinty. The body is based in Inverness, Highland (council area), Highland, and is in ...

and entered the

Camanachd Cup The Camanachd Association Challenge Cup known as the Camanachd Cup (or less commonly the Scottish Cup) is the premier competition in the sport of shinty. It is one of the five trophies considered to be part of the Grand Slam in the sport of shi ...

despite mainland clubs trying to force them to play on the mainland. The club had to wait almost 100 years to win the Camanachd Cup. The club endured a turbulent 1960s, and after a few years without entering competition was reformed in 1969.

Re-establishment

On 2 September 1969, the club was reconstituted with Colonel Jock MacDonald as president and Duncan MacIntyre, a shinty enthusiast and local police inspector at the time, as chairman, and immediately set about fund-raising for the forthcoming season. Instrumental in the re-establishment of the club was Donald R. MacDonald, known as "DR", who was a

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

teacher at

Portree High School Portree High School ( Gaelic: ') is a state co-educational comprehensive school in Portree, Isle of Skye in Scotland. , the school enrols 494 pupils and employs 80 teachers and support staff. The school's catchment area draws from 15 primary sch ...

. The coaching of shinty which he started in the High School sowed the seeds of Skye's greatest success, the Camanachd Cup win of 1990. DR managed the first team in the early 2000s and his sons, Somhairle, Aonghas and Gilleasbuig, all went on to play for the club. Aonghas also managed the club between 2009 and 2010. DR died in March 2010 on the first day of that year's shinty season, and Skye's matches were cancelled that day. Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, Skye Camanachd won several Sutherland Cup finals and this was to build up to their greatest triumph, the Camanachd Cup in 1990.

Camanachd Cup 1990

Skye won the

for the first time in 1990 against

Newtonmore Newtonmore ( ) is a village of approximately 1100 inhabitants in Badenoch, within the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. The village is only a few miles from a location that is claimed to be the exact geographical centre ...

in Fort William. Inspirational in this victory was player Willie Cowie and his brother, manager Ross Cowie. The BBC programme "''Home''", directed by

Douglas Mackinnon Douglas Mackinnon is a Scottish film and television director from Portree, Isle of Skye. He has directed many episodes of television drama and at least three television films. His work includes '' Bodies'', ''Gentlemen's Relish'', ''Robin Hoo ...

, filmed behind the scenes on the day as well as the triumphant homecoming to

where they were met by a crowd of 5000 people, almost half the island's population. The expensive trophy was lost and then found in the street at 6 a.m. the next day: the local legend was that everybody thought that someone else was looking after it. In addition to winning the Cup, the

Albert Smith Medal The Albert Smith Memorial Medal is the award given to the Man of the Match in the final of the Camanachd Cup, the blue riband trophy of the sport of shinty. It has been presented every year since 1972 by the Smith family of Fort William in honour ...

, an award presented to the Man of the Match in the final of the

every year since 1972, was presented to Willie Macrae from Skye Camanachd in 1990. Skye remains the only team from an island to have won the Cup. The club toured

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

in 1991 in the afterglow of the success alongside

Kingussie Kingussie ( ; ) is a small town in the Badenoch and Strathspey ward of the Highland council area of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically in Inverness-shire, it lies beside the A9 road (Great Britain), A9 road, although the old route of ...

.Angus was

Recent times

Portree Camanachd Ground and Clubhouse - geograph

Skye have never again won the Camanachd Cup, but they achieved Premier Division status in the early 2000s under the management of Angus Murchison before being relegated. The club has shown a flair for another sort of promotion however, securing lucrative sponsorship deals with Danish firms

Carlsberg Carlsberg may refer to: Places * Carlsberg (district), a district in Copenhagen, Denmark ** Carlsberg station, its train station * Carlsberg, Germany, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany * Carlsberg Fjord, Greenland Other uses * Carlsbe ...

and Hummel. The club also benefited in early 2008 from an anonymous loan of £50,000 from a local individual, with repayments based on future success. Much of this went to pay off some of the loan which had been invested in the development of the Pairc nan Laoch stadium after the move from the council-owned King George V Park. In July 2008, the first team won the

Balliemore Cup The Balliemore Cup is a knock-out cup in the sport of shinty. It is the Intermediate Championship run under the auspices of the Camanachd Association and only first teams competing in the National, North Division One and South Division One are elig ...

for the first time, defeating

Kilmallie Kilmallie () is a civil parish in Lochaber, in the west highlands of Scotland. It is centered on the village of Caol, near Fort William and extends to Banavie and Corpach. It gives its name to the local shinty Shinty () is a team sport pl ...

3–1 at Braeview Park,

Beauly Beauly ( ; ; ) is a village in Scotland's Highland (council area), Highland area, on the River Beauly, west of Inverness by the Far North Line, Far North railway line. The town is historically within Kilmorack Parish of the County of Inverness. ...

. Gilleasbuig Macdonald was the captain. The club reappointed Angus Murchison to succeed Alasdair Morrison as manager in 2009. Aonghas MacDonald became manager halfway through the season and steered Skye to 3rd place, impressing enough to be given the full-time position in 2010. Ross Cowie, now Chairman of the club, demanded an improvement from the club's reserve side in 2010, after two poor seasons which had seen the reserve team, although historically successful, finish in the bottom half of the North Division Two and suffer humiliating defeats to lower league opposition. In June 2009, Skye won the Plate competition of the Marine Harvest

Clash of the Camans Clash or The Clash may refer to: Culture Events * ''Busch Light Clash'', a motor racing event * '' Clash of the Champions'', a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling event * ''WWE Clash of Champions'', a WWE event Mus ...

at An Aird, defeating

Lochside Rovers Oban Camanachd is a shinty team based in Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland who currently play in the MOWI Premiership. Founded in 1889, they are one of the oldest Camanachd clubs. The reserve team currently plays in South Division One under ...

and Fort William 2nds. The club also undertook the first ever tour of the United States by a Scottish shinty club, visiting

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in September 2009. The club had an underwhelming 2010 season. Aonghas MacDonald stepped down at the end of the season, but was reappointed to the role for the 2011 season before stepping down again at the end of the year. Davie MacVicar also stepped down as reserve manager at the end of the season, to be replaced by Murdo Morrison. Willie MacRae was appointed as the eleventh manager of Skye Camanachd in early 2012. He had a successful season at the wheel, with the club's young squad reaching second in the league. MacRae was at the helm for a disappointing season in 2013 which saw Skye miss out on the new National Division One. John 'Spod' MacLeod was appointed to the manager's role in 2014. In July 2014, the club won the Balliemore Cup again with a hard-earned victory over

Ballachulish The village of Ballachulish ( or , from Scottish Gaelic ) in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, is centred on former slate quarries, and now primarily serves tourists in the area. Name The name Ballachulish (from Scottish Gaelic, ''Baile a' Chao ...

Taynuilt Taynuilt (; , meaning 'the House by the Stream') is a large village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland located at the western entrance to the narrow Pass of Brander. Location The village is situated on the River Nant about a kilometre before the r ...

. Having twice led with goals from Johnathan “Shockie” MacLennan and Danny Morrison, the latter in extra-time, it took a Jordan Murchison goal three minutes from the end of extra time to secure the cup 3–2 for Skye. As in the 2008 triumph, Skye were captained by Gilleasbuig MacDonald. The club also won the Marine Harvest North Division 1 title in 2014 undefeated. SkyeCamanachd2014

In 2015, Skye again went undefeated and this was enough to see them return to the Premier Division, after winning National Division One.

Skye Camanachd Ladies

The club started a ladies' shinty team in 2011. Previously, players such as Sarah Corrigall would play for Glengarry, but now the opportunity for players in Skye and Lochalsh would be available. The club entered North Division Two in 2011 with Lorna MacRae winning the division's player of the year award. The team finished 3rd in 2012. They were also successful in securing the right to play home games on a Saturday. (Sunday play deemed to not be possible due to local religious sensibilities). The team won the North Division Two in 2013 with Skye's Helen Lamond winning the league's Player of the Year award jointly with Hazel Hunter of Strathglass. The Ladies then proceeded to be runners up in both the WCA National Division One and Valerie Fraser Camanachd Cup in 2014. Sarah Corrigall was named player of the match in the cup final despite Skye going down 3-2 to

Glasgow Mid Argyll Glasgow Mid Argyll Shinty Club (GMA) is a shinty club from Glasgow, Scotland. It is the only senior side in Glasgow and was founded in 1928. They have two men's sides and two women's sides. All GMA teams play at Peterson Park (Yoker / Garscadde ...

. Player/manager Corrigall started the match in goals and finished in midfield. Caitlin MacLean and Lorna MacRae were the goal scorers for the Skye team captained by Rosalind Lamond. In 2015, they finished third in the league and reached the semi-final of the Camanachd Cup. Whilst a very young club, Skye has already provided a significant number of internationalists. Skye Camanachd Ladies enjoyed a successful 2016 season under manager Robbie Gordon and clinched their first Marine Harvest National Division One title with a 0-9 victory over Aberdour at Silversands in Fife. The new champions of Scotland have also qualified for the final of the Valerie Fraser Camanachd Cup in Fort William but were beaten 4-2 by Lochaber Ladies. Skye Camanachd Ladies also currently sit third in the new Women's Camanachd Association Development League with what it essentially their reserve team. The Ladies lifted the Valerie Fraser Camanachd Cup for the first time in 2017 and retained their National Division One title too. The Cup was lifted after a stunning 6-1 demolition of Lochaber Ladies avenging the disappointment of the previous years defeat against the same team. In 2018, a Third team was added playing in the Development League while the second team competed for the first time in WCA North Division Two. The Second team's first match was a 10-0 away defeat to Strathglass, but the young team bounced back in their next game beating Inverness 8-1 at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree. The First team currently lead the National Division One and will again play in the final of the Valerie Fraser Camanachd Cup.

Skye Camanachd Youth

The Skye Camanachd U17 team of 2011 won the Co-operative MacTavish Juvenile Cup after an emphatic 4-0 victory over Lochaber in a very wet Inverness. Jordan Murchison opened the scoring. In 2015 the Skye Camanachd U17 team lost the RBS MacTavish Juvenile Cup Final 2-0 to Beauly. Skye Camanachd U17 won the 2016 RBS MacTavish Juvenile Cup at the Bught Park, Inverness on Saturday 11 June 2016 beating Fort William 2-1. Coached by Davie Pringle the goals came from captain James Pringle and Ross Gordon. Skye full centre John Gillies was awarded the Sandy MacKay Medal as man of the match, becoming the third Skye player to win the honour. The other previous Skye winners of the Sandy MacKay Medal were Ryan Morrison (2015) and Jordan Murchison (2011). Skyes under 14s team won the McMaster Cup final on 18 September 2021.

Honours

Camanachd Association Challenge Cup Winners: 1990

Winners: 1898 Runners-up: 1921, 1990, 2023 Glenmhor Cup Winners: 1980, 1981 Runners-Up: 1974 The Strathdearn Cup Winners: 1986, 2000, Runners Up: 1957, 1990, 2014 Sir William Sutherland Cup Winners: 1950, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1988, Runners-Up: 1958, 1971, 2023 Torlundy Cup Winners: 1988 Runners-up: 1989 National

Mod Cup The Mod Cup (Scottish Gaelic Cupa a' Mhòid), also known as the Aviemore Cup, is a trophy in the sport of shinty first competed for in 1969, traditionally played for by the two teams who are based closest to the host venue of the Royal National Mo ...

Winners: 1982, 1989, 1998, 2016, Runners-Up: 1979 Balliemore Shinty Challenge Cup Winners: 2008, 2014, 2021 Runners-Up: 1999, 2003 Marine Harvest Plate Winners: 2009 MacTavish Plate Runners-Up: 2014 National Division Winners: 2000, 2015, 2017, 2022 North Division One (MacGillivray Senior Cup) Winners 2014 Runners-Up: 1990, 1991, 1996, 1997, 2012 North Division Two (MacGillivary Junior Cup) Winners: 1981–82, 2015 Runners-up: 1957, 1978, 2002, 2004 North Division Three (John MacRae Cup) Winners: 1976–77 Runners-up: 1978, 1980, 1988, 1990 Valerie Fraser Camanachd Cup Winners: 2017, 2019, 2023 Runners Up: 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022 WCA National Division One Winners: 2016, 2017, 2018 Runners-Up: 2014, 2019, 2022 WCA North Division Two Winners: 2013 Johnstone Rose Bowl (five-a-side) Winners: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2023 Runners-up: 2017 MacTavish Juvenile Cup (U17) Winners: 1974, 1976, 1977, 1982, 1983, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2011, 2016, 2017 Runners-Up: 2001, 2012, 2015, 2023 W.J. Cameron Challenge Trophy (U17) Winners: 1973, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2006 Runners-up: 1976, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001

London Shield ''For the Football trophy which was a predecessor to the Charity Shield, see Sheriff of London Charity Shield'' The London Shield () is the premier trophy at Under 17 level in the sport of shinty. It takes its name from its having been donated by ...

(U17) Winners: 1997, 2002, 2009, 2018, 2019 Runners-Up: 1999, 2010, 2016 Strathdearn Junior Camanachd Cup (U17) Winners: 1976, 2007, 2018 Runners-up: 1973, 2017 Kenneth A MacMaster Trophy (U14) Winners: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2011, 2016, 2021, 2022 Runners-up: 1997, 1999, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2023 North Division 1 (U14) Winners: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2022 North Division 3 (U14) Runners-Up: 2009 Camanachd Association Cup (Primaries) Winners: 2019, 2022 Runners-up: 2021

"Pride of the Summer"

Skye Camanachd are referenced in the song "Pride of the Summer" by

Runrig Runrig were a Scottish Celtic rock band formed on the Isle of Skye in 1973. From its inception, the band's line-up included brothers and songwriters Rory MacDonald (musician), Rory MacDonald (bass, vocals) and Calum MacDonald (musician), Calum ...

, with a mention of the distinctive white strips that the club wears. The track is the fourth one on the band's ''

The Cutter and the Clan ''The Cutter and the Clan'' is the fifth studio album by Scottish Celtic rock band Runrig. Released on 1 December 1987, it was the band's breakthrough album, taking them from cottage industry to the international stage. Initially, it peaked at nu ...

'' album. :I still see the blood on the knees :The camans swing without warning :The lads in white :At the speed of light :It's good to be young and daring Skye also get a mention in Fergie MacDonald's amusing ditty, "The Shinty Referee".

References

External links

Skye Camanachd Website
which is arguably the best shinty website on the internet giving news and reports not just on Skye Camanachd but shinty fixtures across all the leagues and cups.
Murchison appointed for 2009Skye Defeat Caberfeidh, May 2008 West Highland Free Press, Skye Shinty ReportsRunrig Home Page
{{Skye Isle of Skye Shinty teams Sport in Highland (council area) 1892 establishments in Scotland Sports clubs and teams established in 1892