A touching tribute from Fort William to the late Duncan MacPhee:

Fort William Shinty Club are very saddened at the passing of our recent Chairman, Duncan MacPhee.
Duncan brought his expertise as a lawyer at MacPhee and Partners to Fort William Shinty Club where he set about a plan to help revive and drive the club forward.
This period in the Club’s history saw the formation of a large committee encompassing a blend of experience and youth, which achieved many things.
Improvements to the clubhouse followed, merchandise went on sale and ensured the familiar yellow and black could be seen far and wide, proudly displayed by fans.
A ladies team was formed for the first time at the Club and this proved to be so popular that two teams were created with a first team and a development side. On some training nights, the ladies outnumbered the men!
The An Aird pitch needed urgent attention and a sub-committee was formed which sourced the expertise to bring the field up to a standard that would see the Club become one of the top venues for shinty cup finals.
Fort William became the first (and still the only) club to achieve the gold standard in the club accreditation scheme and the first club to access DCI funding to employ a Club development officer.
Duncan MacPhee was instrumental in all of this, but perhaps the most lasting legacy of his time with the Club would be the transformation of a barren piece of waste ground adjacent to the clubhouse.
An Aird was becoming overworked with all the team practices and home games. Duncan put into motion a plan to turn the waste ground into an Under 14’s playing field which would also be used for training. This was a huge undertaking and involved many people with a variety of skills to come together to achieve his vision.
The new pitch was formally opened on the 24th of July 2021 and, at the request of the Committee, was named Fraser’s Field.
Alongside his wife Rosemary and their family, Duncan was proud to have set up the popular annual Fraser MacPhee Youth Shinty Tournament, the North v South U14s Fraser MacPhee Memorial Cup and the Fraser MacPhee Ambassador for Sport Trophy at Lochaber High School. Duncan and Rosemary were proud supporters of the Disability Shinty Festival.
He knew that if young people were engaged in sport then they would be active, have a goal and be supported.
Duncan’s support and dedication to the club stemmed from his sons, Niall, Arran, Fraser and Ruaridh, who all played for Fort William at various times. He was immensely proud of them all and loved to watch them play, particularly when Niall captained the team to win the Camanachd Cup in 2010.
Duncan stepped down from his role as Chairman in 2020 but kept a hand in with the committee. He loved the Club with a passion and the Club loved him. He will be sorely missed by all the shinty community.
Our thoughts go out to Rosemary, Catriona, Niall, Ruaridh, Arran and families. Duncan’s funeral will take place at 11am at St Mary’s Church, Fort William, on Saturday December 17.