Congratulations to Innes Begg on being named men’s captain at Glasgow University Shinty Club for the 2026/2027 season.
Innes has come through the Camanachd Leòdhais youth system, having been a regular attender of our summer camps, represented the club at the national development camp and has played for the first team and has also had a spell as a referee, the highlight being reffing Iomain Chomcille XV in Shawbost in 2024. His cousins Rory and Conall MacDiarmaid have also held roles with the university club, and remain great supporters of the club.
It’s highly appropriate that Innes has been made captain, as the University Side is currently celebrating its 125th anniversary and the club has always had strong island connections. Indeed, it was a Uistman Angus MacVicar who was one of the club’s three founders in 1901. Having looked at the three other “traditional” university teams this year (Edinburgh, Aberdeen and St Andrews), it is nice to be able to complete the set with Glasgow University, one which has very strong links to Camanachd Leòdhais as it is today.
Over the 20th century the varsity side played a vital role in providing islanders an opportunity to pick up a sport that had fallen out of practice in the Western Isles after the 1920s.
Alex “Zadok” MacLeod from Leurbost, the famous An Dotair Mòr played for the Òr is Dubh in the 1920s (where he infamously lost his eye in a game), and the Reverend Alexander Macdonald from North Uist (latterly minister at Ardchattan, Oban), Calum Coinneach MacLeod (North Uist, but attended the Nicolson) and Dr Nicol MacLeod from Berneray also played for the Varsity around this time.
A very important figure in the revival of Lewis shinty was also a Blue at Glasgow University. Donald Macdonald, Dòmhnall Dhòmhnaill Bhig, author of Lewis: A History and Its People. He came from 38 North Tolsta – Tolsta was a shinty hotbed until the 1930s – and Donald’s mother would proudly wear his Blues scarf to church according to James Shaw Grant. Although Donald died in 1990, it was the shinty folklore recorded in his seminal book, based on a longer article about amusements Shinty | North Tolsta Historical Society that was the spark that inspired Donna Barden and her late husband Doctor Alasdair, to restart shinty in the island.
The legendary D.R. Macdonald from North Uist was also inspired to pick up shinty whilst at Glasgow University, which set him on the path to helping the revival of the sport in Skye, culminating in the 1990 Camanachd Cup win. The famous Hugh Dan MacLennan also turned out for the University, as did a sizeable contingent of Barraich in the 1990s including members of the Vatersay Boys and former MP Angus Brendan MacNeil.
Into the new century and Eoghan Stewart was press officer and secretary of the University side in the early 2000s and this advertising and administrative experience was handy when Camanachd Leòdhais became a senior club. The connections between the two clubs around this time was very strong. Subsequently a lot of former Lewis players would go on to play for Glasgow University whilst studying in the city, including Scott Murray, Micheal Macdonald, Al Reed, Paddy Sinclair and Michael MacLeod. Scott and Al would receive representative student honours during their time in Glasgow. John Ferguson, son of Neil Ferguson who played for the previous incarnation of Lewis Camanachd, also turned out for the Varsity in the late 2000s.
The two sides have met twice in friendlies – in 2007 and in 2012. The 2007 game was the night before the club’s first cup match in Glasgow, and was a 3-1 defeat that saw Alasdair MacKenzie score the club’s first senior goal at Garscube. The 2012 match was an 8-0 defeat that still impressively saw Lewis field 11 players living in the central belt alongside a guest player on a mucky preseason match at Yoker’s Peterson Park.
In the current era, Daniel Harrison has been the driving force in making sure the away strip donning “The Irn-Bru Crew” represent Camanachd Leòdhas annually at the Jack Asher Sixes, in tribute to the late great Jack Asher shinty stalwart and referee who had a long standing connection with the uni side.
In many ways, there might not be a Camanachd Leòdhais today if it wasn’t for Glasgow University Shinty Club, and so Innes will be a great addition to the long line of island players furthering shinty at Glasgow University and we wish him all the best. Perhaps it’s time for another friendly between the two sides to mark the occasion. Òr is Dubh agus Dubh is Gorm gu bràth!