Kilmallie Shinty Club is a
shinty team from
Caol
Caol ( Gaelic: ''An Caol'') is a village near Fort William, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is about north of Fort William town centre, on the shore of Loch Linnhe, and within the parish of Kilmallie.
The name "Caol" is from the ...
,
Fort William,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. The club most recently achieved prominence in the all-Fort William
Camanachd Cup Final in 2005.
History
The club was founded in 1929 and is named after the parish of
Kilmallie
Kilmallie ( gd, Cill Mhàilidh) 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 club, Kilmallie Sh ...
, within which the team plays. They were given a pitch at Corpach by James Weir of Annat Farm, where games took place until the pulp mill opened and they relocated to Canal Parks in Caol. The club has never folded or amalgamated with another club. Having won the MacGillvary Senior League in 1959 and 1960, the club won the
Camanachd Cup in 1964 against
Inveraray
Inveraray ( or ; gd, Inbhir Aora meaning "mouth of the Aray") is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is a former royal burgh, the traditional county town of Arg ...
in Fort William but then fell on hard times, falling as low as North Division Four.
![The Kilmallie Team of 1064](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/The_Kilmallie_Team_of_1064.jpg)
The club slowly made progress from this low ebb by a concentration on youth policy and they climbed the leagues and are now a fixture in the Premier Division. The club then reached the
Camanachd Cup Final in 2005 where they were defeated 3–2 by
Fort William Shinty Club
Fort William Shinty Club is a shinty club from Fort William, Lochaber, Scotland. The club has two sides in the Shinty league system, a first team which was relegated from the Premiership in 2013 and a reserve side in North Division Two. The f ...
at
An Aird, Fort William, in one of the closest and exciting finals for many years.
[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article564593.ece ]
Whilst 2007 saw the first team's top-flight status come to an end despite a late season rally, the second team gained a revenge of sorts for the Camanachd Cup in 2005 by defeating Fort William Reserves in the Sutherland Cup Final on 17 August 2007 in
Oban and also won the Strathdearn Cup the same year. The club finished second in North Division One in 2008 and 2009. The club won North Division One in 2010 and 2013. New league structuring by the Camanachd Association prevented Kilmallie being promoted in 2013 and the club being condemned to the National Division looking for promotion to the Premier League yet again. They were denied promotion again, but this time on the park, in 2015, when after a ten-week lay-off they faced Kingussie in a promotion-relegation play-off. They were defeated 2–0.
The club went on to win National Division One in strong style in 2016. The club also won the National Division in 2018 and again gained promotion to The Premier League for season 2019. There's high hopes for the current Kilmallie squad and newly appointed manager John Stewart, to compete at the highest level in shinty once again.
Kilmallie has had a number of successes over the years including the Camanachd Cup in 1964, the MacTavish Cup in 1959,1961,1967 and 1969, and the Balliemore Cup in 1992, 1993, 2016 and 2018
Location
![Shinty pitch beside Loch Linnhe - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Shinty_pitch_beside_Loch_Linnhe_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1285859.jpg)
The pitch is on the north west side of
Caol
Caol ( Gaelic: ''An Caol'') is a village near Fort William, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is about north of Fort William town centre, on the shore of Loch Linnhe, and within the parish of Kilmallie.
The name "Caol" is from the ...
. On one side it is bounded by the
Caledonian Canal and on the other side is
Loch Linnhe.
References
External links
Kilmallie Shinty Club Website
{{Shinty teams
Sport in Highland (council area)
Shinty teams
Fort William, Highland
1929 establishments in Scotland
Sports clubs established in 1929