PICTURES: Two Kingussie shinty greats have their names cemented in club’s history
Two of the all-time greats of shinty have had their name cemented in Kingussie Camanachd Club’s illustrious history.
Ian Ross and the late Donnie Grant had the club’s two stands officially named after them at The Dell.
Impressive signage boards commemorating both men’s huge contribution to the game and the club were unveiled in an emotional pre-match ceremony on Saturday before the Red and Blues faced Bute in the Camanachd Cup.
Their names now stand aloft at the two 50-seater stands.
Mr Ross and Donnie’s wife Jan led the Kingussie and Bute teams as they were piped onto the field on Saturday.
They were accompanied by Donnie and Jan’s daughter Noreen and her son Ryan and members of the 1984 Grand Slam squad who also had such a pivotal part in the club’s return to the top.
The group was all present with the exception of keeper and full back Rab Muir, another club legend, who is also sadly no longer here.
The squad, of course included Donnie and Jan’s son Ross Grant, and they all took their place around the centre circle on the usual immaculate Dell surface.
Mr Ross undertook the pre-match toss of the coin and when referee Willie MacDonald sounded his whistle to get the action under way, the Kings players paid their own tribute.
They scored a resounding 8-1 win over Bute as they began the defence of the Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup in style and to mark the perfect way to celebrate a huge day for the club.
Club spokesman John Robertson said: “It is fair to say that Donnie and Ian are the two most influential figures in the history of Kingussie Camanachd Club.
“Their vision and strength of character has moulded and shaped the club since the 1970s and the success from the early 1980s until the present day is built on their ethics and principles.
“The Camanachd Cup win in 1984 was the club’s first for 23 years and that year’s Grand Slam is widely regarded as the catalyst for all the successes that have come since then.”
It is 40 years to the week since that win in Oban in what was the first ever all ‘North’ final after the Camanachd Cup was made an open draw.
Previous to 1983 it was always a North and South competition right up until the final. It was also the first ever Badenoch final as a result.
Mr Robertson said: “It really was fantastic to see all the surviving members of the 1984 squad back together at the Dell again on Saturday.”
The importance of Donnie and Ian to the club is explained in the digital version of the boards erected in their respective stands.
As part of the wider celebrations, a painting by well-known British artist, Jane E. Spindler (1856 – 1939), depicts the oldest known image of shinty in Kingussie was handed over to the club.
It is a scene from the town’s Spey Street in the late 19th Century.
The painting had been in possession of the Morrison family for many years until Ismay Goodliffe (nee Morrison) gifted the painting from her family to club on Saturday.
After the second round Camanachd Cup triumph, all those at the game were invited to watched a screening of the 1984 final in the Dell bar and many stories were recounted from 40 years ago.
There is a video on the club’s Facebook page which readers can catch-up with showing the pre-match celebrations.
Mr Grant passed away aged 84 in August last year. He had been a driving force with Shinty Memories Scotland and had lived with dementia for a number of years.
All of Saturday’s photos: Fiona Young.
