Iolaire Commemorative Shinty Challenge Match
The 100th anniversary of the Iolaire tragedy will be remembered in a special commemorative shinty match on the 1st of January 2019. Kinlochshiel Shinty Club will be the opposition as Camanachd Leòdhais honour the 201 men who didn’t make it home on that fateful night. The historical significance of the match lies in the fact that the Iolaire left Kyle of Lochalsh, a town represented by Kinlochshiel, and that many of the Lewis men who served in the Great War were shinty players.
Camanachd Leodhais captain Ally Lamont said “As a club we are conscious that we represent the island and our community in everything we do. The unimaginable loss of the Iolaire tragedy can still be felt across our island and we feel that a shinty match, a sport which many of the Lewis men who went to war would have played, is a fitting way to honour their memory. We would like to thank Kinlochshiel Shinty Club for making the journey to Lewis and for their understanding of the importance of this event to our club and community.”
Neil Macrae, a Director of Kinlochshiel Shinty Club, welcomed the opportunity to honour those who never came home. “Kinlochshiel Shinty Club are pleased to participate in the Iolaire commemorations. Notwithstanding the fact the boat started her journey in Kyle, the tragedy took the lives of young men of shinty playing age from an island renowned for its sportsmen. This commemoration is a sobering reminder of how fragile life can be and how lucky our young men and women are to be able to play freely. We can only wonder how prominent shinty may have been on Lewis had these lads been given the chance to take up the game. We look forward to a sporting and respectful challenge with the present and growing Lewis Camanachd “
Respected shinty historian Dr Hugh Dan Maclennan explained how appropriate the match is. “The significance of Kyle of Lochalsh as a key part of the chain which has historically linked the Western Isles and the mainland will forever be overshadowed by the tragic events which began to unfold when the Iolaire set sail for Stornoway. There was, no doubt, an overwhelming sense of relief that the War and its traumas were being set aside; the impending celebration of a New Year and all that this entailed, with local shinty matches still fresh in the memory. The Iolaire changed the Western Isles forever. It is singularly appropriate, however, that the sportsmen of the West Coast and Lewis, and in particular the shinty players, are coming together to play their own distinctive part in marking the events 100 years ago. Shinty withered on the Western Isles with the passage of time and the cataclysmic events of WW1. The home
coming of men with their football and changed habits, along with other changes in community life saw to that. But now, with the fullness of time, the caman is again at the heart of the community, a symbol of the strength of its people, their resilience and a pride in its past.”
Norman A MacDonald, Chairman of The Iolaire Working Group commented “The Iolaire Working Group is pleased to support this shinty match as part of the wider commemorative events for the centenary of the Iolaire tragedy. Although not known to many, shinty was, of course, the sport played by many of the men at the time. We are very pleased and grateful to Camanachd Leòdhais and to our friends in Kinlochshiel for making the effort to organise this very fitting sporting event on the 1st of January 2019.”
The match will take place at 1.30 pm on January the 1st at Bayhead Playing Fields. Spectators are warmly welcomed.
Geama Iomain airson cuimhneachadh call na h-Iolaire
Bidh Iomain mar phàirt de thachartasan a’ cuimhneachadh ceud bliadhna bho chall na h-Iolaire. Cluichidh Camanachd Leòdhais geama càirdeil an aghaidh Cheann Loch Seile air a’ chiad là den bhliadhna ùir. Chaidh an geama a chur air adhairt airson togail air ceangalan eachdraidheil co cheangailte ris a’ Chiad Chogaih. B’ e iomain spòrs nan eilean mus do chuir an cogadh às dha anns na sgìrean seo. Chaidh an spòrs a chumail beò sa chòrr den Ghàidhealtachd agus tha e iomchaidh gur e Ceann Loch Seile a tha a’ tighinn a null airson an gheama seo a chluich leis gur ann à Caol Loch Aillse a dh’fhàg an Iolaire.
Thuirt Alasdair Lamont, sgiobair Camanachd Leòdhais “Mar chomann tha sinn mothachail gu bheil sinn a’ riochdachadh ar eilean agus ar coimhearsnachd anns gach rud a tha sinn a’ dèanamh. Chan eil e comasach a chur ann am facail buaidh na thachair ach tha e ri fhaireachdainn nar coimhearsnachdan chun an là an-diugh. Tha sinn a’ faireachdainn gu bheil e iomchaidh geama iomain a chluich mar dhòigh air cuimhneachadh air na gillean sin, oir ‘s e iomain an spòrs a bh’ aca mus do dh’fhàg iad an dachaigh airson sabaid air ar son. Bu mhath leinn taing mhòr a thoirt seachad do Cheann Loch Seile airson an oidhirp a tha iad a’ dèanamh a thighinn a-null agus cho tui
gseach ‘s a tha iad mu cho cudromach sa tha na tachartasann cuimhneachaidh seo dhuinn.
Thuirt Niall MacRath , aon de stiùirichean Cheann Loch Seile: “Tha sgioba iomain Cheann Loch Sheile toilichte pàirt a ghabhail ann an tachartasan cuimhneachaidh sgrios na h-Iolaire. Chan e a-mhàin gun do dh’fhàg am bàta an Caol air an oidhche uabhasach ud, ach thug na thachair buaidh cho mòr air gillean òga nan Eilean, aig an robh cliù fad is farsaing airson tàlant a thaobh spòrs. Tha an tachartas seo na chuimhneachan air cho cugallach ‘s a tha beatha mhic an duine agus cho fortanach ‘s a tha sinn gu bheil cothrom againn cluiche ar geama ann an saorsa. Chan urrainn dhuinn ach tomhais dè an ìre a bhiodh iomain air ruighinn sna h-Eileanan mura b’ e a’ Chiad Chogadh. Tha sinn a’ coimhead air adhairt ri geama càirdeil leis na gillean a tha a-nise air an spòrs ath-bheòthachadh ann an Leòdhas.”
Thug an t-eòlaiche iomain, an Dtr Uisdean MacIllinnein, iomradh air na ceangalan eachdraidheil a tha aig bun stèidh an tachartais sa. “Dh’atharraich na thachair leis an Iolaire na h-Eileanan Siar, agus gu h-àraidh Eilean Leòdhais, gu siorraidh. An dèidh sgrios a’ Chogaidh Mhòir `s ann aig sealbh a tha brath dè bh’air inntinn na chaidh air bòrd anns a’ Chaol. Faothachadh a bhith a’ dol dhachaigh, tha mi cinnteach, agus faireachdainnean, misneachd agus togail na bliadhn’ ùire, a dh’aindeoin àmhghairean nan ceithir bliadhna roimhe sin. Cuimhne ‘s dòcha air geamaichean camanachd ro bhliadhnaichean a’ chogaidh – an caisean-uchd is eile, rannan Callainn. `S beag a bha a dh’fhios aca dè bha a’ tighinn orra, fiùs sa gheàrr-ùine, gun tighinn air na bliadhnaichean doirbh a bha a’ dol a dh’fhuasgladh an dèidh faighinn dhachaigh. Bhiodh cleachdaidhean na Callainn air an aire a measg ghnothaichean eile, agus leis sin tha e air leth freagarrach gum bi balaich taobh Siar Rois agus seòid an Eilein ag ùrachadh na Callainn mar chuimhneachan air na thachair. A h-uile là a chì is nach fhaic.”
Bha seo aig Cathraiche Buidheann Obrach na h-Iolaire, an comhairlaiche Tormod Dòmhnallach ri ràdh: ” Tha a’ buidheann obrach air leth toilichte taic a thoirt dhan gheama seo mar phàirt de thachartsan cuimhneachaidh sgrios na h-Iolaire. B’ e iomain an spòrs a bha aig mòran san eilean mus do dh’fhalbh iad dhan Chogadh, rud nach eil fhios aig mòran. Tha sinn taingeil is toilichte gu bheil Camanachd Leòdhais agus ar cairdean aig Ceann Loch Seile a’ cur a’ gheama iomchaidh seo air adhart air a’ chiad là den Fhaoileach.”
Toisichidh an geama aig leth uair an dèidh uair feasgair air a’ chiad latha den Fhaoileach aig Pairce Cheann a’ Bhàigh.
Images are reproduced with the kind permission of Dr Hugh Dan MacLennan and the Iolaire Working Group.
Referee Henry MacInnes will oversee a 2 minute silence before the match starts.
For more information contact Donald Lamont on 07342032118