Shinty celebrated through the ages ahead of Camanachd Cup final

Elsewhere West Highland Museum in Fort William is hosting an exhibition celebrating the early days of organised shinty in Lochaber which also coincides with this weekend’s final between Lovat and Kingussie shinty clubs.

The exhibition, “Camanachd: Geama Aosda nan Gleann Abrach” (Shinty: Ancient Game of the Lochaber Glens), focuses on the history of shinty, its Gaelic connections and episodes in the history of the three local teams - Fort William Shinty Club, Lochaber Camanachd Club and  Kilmallie Shinty Club - up until 1964.

The Camanachd Cup, shinty’s top trophy, will be on display at the museum until Friday September 20.

The new trophy is on loan from the Camanachd Association and will be presented to the winning side for the first time in 2024.

This will replace the 1896 trophy, which will be permanently displayed at Inverness Castle from 2025.

Among the items on display are medals from competitions won by long departed shinty heroes with accompanying photographs.

These include the stories of James MacDonald, a Camanachd Cup winner who died during the First World War, and “Ginger” Wilson who famously escaped the Nazis in the Second World War by speaking his native Gaelic.

Among the museum’s own collection is a Camanachd Cup runner-up medal from 1897, when Brae Lochaber lost the final game 5-0 to Beauly in Inverness.

Other special items on display include two MacTavish Cup medals on loan from broadcaster and musician Gary Innes.

These medals belonged to Alexander (Sandy) Gemmell who was born in 1895. He went on to worked on a local estate; fought in World War I and then returned to Lochaber.

He made camans (shinty sticks) and was an excellent marksman. He played for Spean Bridge in goal from the early 1920s, and won the MacTavish Cup Medals in 1921-22 and 24-25.

West Highland Museum curator manager, Vanessa Martin said: “The aim of the exhibition is to introduce visitors to our ancient game and the history of our three most local clubs, whilst engaging local audiences with their heritage.

“We are very grateful to the local clubs and members of the community who have contributed to the exhibition and loaned items to us.

“We are particularly grateful to broadcaster Hugh Dan MacLennan for his support, the Highland Folk Museum, and for the support of Shinty Memories Scotland who have sponsored the exhibition.”

Shinty Memories are supporting the exhibition, and it is hoped that it will help inspire much needed interest and participation in their valuable work from the shinty fraternity within Lochaber.

Entry to the museum is free and the exhibition runs until the end of October. A series of blogs about shinty have been published on the museum’s website www.westhighlandmuseum.org.uk/blog.