Shinty will feature in the Spirit of the Highlands – Spioraid na Gàidhealtachd thanks to an audiovisual presentation that will tell the story of the historic fixtures between Strathglass and Glenurquhart using word, sound and pictures old and new.

Garg, meaning Fierce in Glenurquhart and Strathglass Gaelic, aims to feature former and current players’ recollections and memories about the Macdonald Cup and Ali Bhan Cup, as well as hearing their opinions on shinty’s importance to the communities of Glenurquhart and Strathglass today.

Eòghan has been researching the Gaelic poetry that was inspired by the 1887/1888 Games, as well as exploring the written histories of the two clubs, in particular the writings of Peter English, and Hugh Barron & John Willie Campbell. Eòghan said about his reasons for the project “Playing for Strathglass, I got into looking at the history of the club and also of their oldest rivals and then I discovered a treasure trove of what we would call bàrdachd baile – township poetry, in Gaelic where people made songs up to either celebrate their victory, or in some cases, to slag off their rivals in the two big games played in 1887 and 1888 at the Bught Park.”

“The Spirit of the Highlands project is all about stories, so ensuring that shinty, and in particular the importance of the games between Strath and Glen to the sport as a whole, and the fact that it was predominantly a game between Gaelic speakers at the time is really important to tell. Moving from the first two games, to the revivals of the Macdonald and Ali Bhan Cups, and into the modern era with the  MacLennan Cup for women’s shinty, there’s a big story to tell in both Gaelic and English and it’s important that shinty is there and reflecting how the communities of Strath and Glen have changed over time.”

“Thanks to Garry MacKintosh at Glenurquhart and the committee at Strathglass for supporting the project.”