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According to legend, the game shinty goes back at least 1500 years. As a result of the inheritance of the Scottish nation in
Ireland, these roots are firmly embedded in the founding of the game of 'camanachd' - the sport of the curved stick - which was the diversion of the heroes of Celtic history. The good people below the fairy mounds were
believed to be fine exponents; Cuchulin, Finn MacCoul and Ossian were celebrated for their great skill at the game. In the court of the princeling kings it was the principal recreation, and a dispute in play at Tara was
said to be a reason for Columba leaving his native land. In its ancient form, camanachd is the ancestor of Scottish shinty and Irish hurling - with links with field and ice hockey, golf and cricket. Authorities on human
behaviour have traditionally given much attention to the substitution that sport provides for combative aggression and, in team forms, for violent tribal combat. For more than 500 years among the Highland clans in
Scotland, shinty was seen as a rehearsal for war. It developed all the qualities required by that warrior society, outlined by today's ruling body of the game as stamina, soundless of wind and limb, brain as well as
muscle, prowess, manliness and courage'. During the period of suppression in the Highlands after Culloden in 1746, and as a result of the increased influence of narrow church doctrines in the succeeding century,
shinty, along with other aspects of Gaelic culture, suffered greatly. The game ceased to be played in many areas, although enthusiasts in districts such as Lochaber, Badenoch and Strathglass managed to keep it alive.
The clan chiefs and other landed proprietors continued to give their patronage to the game and the 'ball plays', as they were called, remained great popular occasions in the annual calendar. In the later 19th century,
when sports in general were receiving formalisation, the followers of shinty were unanimous in their desire for agreed rules to be established. Such a step would allow proper challenge matches rather than just local
parish against parish or strath against glen contests to be arranged. The first body to answer this plea and codify shinty rules was the Glasgow Celtic Society in 1879. In 1893, at Kingussie in Inverness-shire, the
Camanachd Association was formed; since then it has remained the overall ruling body of the game. Three years later, the Camanachd Association Challenge Cup competition was established and this continues as the blue
riband of shinty, with the Camanachd Cup Final the climax of the season. The 1988 Camanachd Cup holders, Kingussie, were the pacesetters in the earliest years of the competition, gaining the cup three times by 1903.
This record was equaled by Kyles Athletic, a team from faraway Tighnabruich, with wins in 1904, 1905 and 1906, and then overtaken by Kingussie's near neighbours and great rivals Newtonmore, who triumphed for the next
four years. By 1988, Newtonmore had taken the premier trophy a remarkable 27 times, with the other two clubs still holding the next places in the honours list: Kyles with 19 wins and Kingussie with 10. Distance remains
one of the major obstacles in, organising shinty matches; to reduce traveling, the long-established league system has always continued in two groups, one for the north and one for the south, with some 60 teams in eight
divisions. The winners of the two first divisions play each other at the end of the season for the National League Trophy. Shinty is played in the Highlands from Wester Ross to Kintyre and, in relation
to the Gaelic population, in central Scotland in the cities and universities. Young players are encouraged and taught in many Highland schools; the Schools Camanachd Association was established in 1937. Even in London,
amazingly enough, there is an exiles' outpost. An indoor version of the sport has been developed and an annual tournament takes place at Aviemore. From as early as 1897, international matches, to composite shinty/
hurling rules, have taken place between Scotland and Ireland. Shinty continues to maintain strong allegiance and, in the communities where it is played, is central to identity and self pride. In wider Scottish terms, it
deserves general respect both for its long lineage and for its own distinctive qualities. At its best, shinty is a sport that can stand comparison with any other in the world. |
