Glasgow Cowal Shinty Club was a

shinty Shinty ( gd, camanachd, iomain) is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, an ...

club, founded in 1876 and now defunct, which was one of the founding members of the

Camanachd Association The Camanachd Association (in Scottish Gaelic, ''Comann na Camanachd'') is the world governing body of the Scottish sport of shinty. The body is based in Inverness, Highland, and is in charge of the rules of the game. Its main competitions ...

. It was one of the most illustrious names in the sports history before folding in the 1920s. It played at various locations in Glasgow including

Glasgow Green Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde. Established in the 15th century, it is the oldest park in the city. It connects to the south via the St Andrew's Suspension Bridge. History In ...

and was involved in some of the most important fixtures in shinty history.

History

In keeping with many teams in Glasgow, the Cowal suffix indicated the area of the Highlands from which the club attracted its players originally, the

Cowal Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde. The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arrochar ...

peninsula. The club won the

Glasgow Celtic Society Cup The Glasgow Celtic Society Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the Scottish Sea Farms Celtic Society Cup since 2018, is a knock-out cup competition in the sport of shinty. Entry is open to all senior teams from the South District playing in the P ...

on four occasions and was captained by Alex McKellar when they won the first playing of that competition in 1879. Indeed, in 2004 the club was represented by four of McKellar's great-great-grandchildren at the 100th final of the competition. In 1893, a game between Cowal and Kingussie was a major influence upon those who wished to formulise the rules of the game and to create a

. Cowal also appeared in the first ever

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 shin ...

Final but were defeated 2–0 in Inverness by

Kingussie Kingussie ( ; gd, Ceann a' Ghiùthsaich ) is a small town in the Badenoch and Strathspey ward of the Highland council area of Scotland. Historically in Inverness-shire, it lies beside the A9 road, although the old route of the A9 serves as the ...

. The club was renowned for its "scientific" approach to the game, which initially saw it have great success against teams from the Highland heartlands of the sport. The club also took part in the first

Composite rules shinty-hurling Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials ...

international to be played in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also ...

in 1897. The club became defunct around 1934. It did not enter the Camanachd Cup in this season.

References

External links

A Sporting Nation
{{Shinty teams Shinty teams Sports clubs and teams in Glasgow 1876 establishments in Scotland Sports clubs and teams established in 1876 Defunct organisations based in Scotland Defunct sports clubs and teams in Scotland Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1934 1934 disestablishments in Scotland Defunct shinty teams in Scotland