Strathglass Shinty Club or "Comunn Camanachd Straghlais" in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

is 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 from

Cannich Cannich (Gaelic: ''Canaich'') is a village at the southern end of Strathglass, in the Highlands of Scotland, about west of the city of Inverness. It is at the furthest point of the A831 that loops around the Aird from Beauly to Drumnadrochit. I ...

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in populatio ...

. The Club was founded in 1879, is considered to be the oldest constituted club in shinty and played a major role in the development of the rules of the sport. The first team plays in National Division One but played in the Marine Harvest Premier Division after two successive promotions from the old North Division One from 2006 to 2008. The club restarted its second team in 2017, and there is a successful women's team, started in 2006.

History

Strathglass competed in the fixture considered to be the origin of the rules that apply today in modern shinty against

Glenurquhart Shinty Club Glenurquhart Shinty Club is a shinty team which plays in Drumnadrochit on the banks of Loch Ness, Scotland. It draws its players from the part of the Great Glen which encompasses Drumnadrochit, Lewiston and Glenurquhart. The club has been exist ...

Bught Park Bught Park ( Gaelic: Pàirc nam Bochd ) is the largest park in the city of Inverness, Scotland, and is situated on the western bank of the River Ness. It is home to the Inverness Highland Games and a small scale outdoor music festival. It is ...

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

on 12 February 1887. Glen Urquhart won the game, played with 22 players on each side 2–0. This fixture was to be repeated on 12 January 2007 in Inverness as the opening centrepiece of the

Highland 2007 Highland 2007 was a year-long celebration of Highland culture which took place from January until December 2007. It involved local communities throughout the Scottish Highlands and Islands as well as people across Scotland, the UK and beyond. Bac ...

celebrations in Scotland. However, despite two attempts to play the fixture, one in 2007 (as an opener to the celebrations) and the next in 2008 (as a closer) both were cancelled due to inclement weather. The trophy from this cancelled game has been repurposed for the restored National Division One. This ancient rivalry is still continued with the clubs' first teams usually playing each year for the MacDonald Cup and second teams for the Ali Bhan Cup as a curtain raiser to the new season. CannichShinty

The club won the Strathdearn Cup in 1929, 1967 and 1983. They became the first North area team to win the Balliemore Cup in 1986 and went on to win this trophy on two further occasions in 2003 and 2009. The club made history by going from North Division One to National Division One to the Premier Division in straight seasons. The club held its own in the top tier in 2006 and 2007 but was relegated in 2008. Robert Geddes stood down at the end of the 2008 season after ten years at the helm. Geddes was replaced by Garry Reid for the 2009 season. The club has never made it to 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 shin ...

final, most recently falling at the semi-final stage to

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 ...

on 25 August 2007. The club won the Balliemore Cup for the third time in 2009 by defeating Kinlochshiel 5–1 at the Meadows in

Rothesay Rothesay ( ; gd, Baile Bhòid ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay, which offers an onward rail ...

. Garry Reid stepped down at the end of the season and was replaced by Brian MacKay, the second team manager to that point. He was replaced, in turn, by Steve Harvey. After a terrible season, which saw them struggle to field their second team, Strathglass ended up at the bottom of North Division One. The club avoided relegation after 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 ...

was convinced not to hold a winner-takes-all playoff with North Division Two team,

Glengarry The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military ...

. Robert Geddes was reappointed manager of the first team for the 2012 season. Callum Duff, a former player, returned to the club as an assistant in 2012 but became manager for the 2013 season. This was also accompanied with a recruitment drive to improve on Strathglass' recent poor form. However, Duff did not last and the players had to take on the management role themselves. The club re-established itself in North One, and finished a close second to Newtonmroe in 2016 under Dave Balharry's management. Balharry continued in post into 2017 as Strathglass successfully petitioned to be promoted to the National Division structure. Shinty winners

The club has struggled to field a strong second team in recent years, in 2014 the club took the decision to withdraw the reserves from league competition but still compete in cup competition. The club restarted their second team on a full-time basis in 2017. 2013 was a successful year for the women's side with them lifting the Marine Harvest Challenge Cup for sides outside the National Division. This good form was continued in 2014 when they retained their title, and 2015 saw them crowned Marine Harvest National 2 League Winners.

References

External links

Strathglass Shinty Club Official SiteReenactment of historic fixture v Glenurquhart
{{Shinty teams Sports clubs established in 1879 Shinty teams Sport in Highland (council area) 1879 establishments in Scotland