Yesterday's heroes...

Heroes Index

Boleskine 1985

Boleskine Camanachd 1985 taken  at Inverness

Back Row L to R; Willie Swanson, Joey Smith, Billy Mackay, Ali Cameron (Barns) ,Andy Cameron, Alister Chisholm, Jim Chisholm, Alan Sumner .
Front Row L to R; Kevin Stewart, Duncan Macmillian, Charlie Kennedy, Alfie Fraser, Duncan Macdonald, Billy Cameron .

This is possibly the first photo of the Boleskine team since 1980, when a team photo appeared in the shinty section of the now defunct Peoples Journal.

The Peoples Journal since the mid 1920 had featured a shinty column and also from that period forward, had included photos of shinty teams regularly in its weekly editions .

The Boleskine team of this period was in the old North division two and generally finished in the lower end of the league each season, but our main success was being able to field a team with limited playing resource over the years .

Late in 1985 we were invited to compete for the Mod Cup against our old adversary's Inverness as the town was hosting the Gaelic mod that year, though we lost the game it gave the club a boast and we finish the season with the most league points for years . 

The advice and encouragement passed on by the older players in the team, helped the younger player to gain confidence and fulfil their potential .  

There were three former Sutherland cup winners in the team Alfie Fraser, Billy Mackay and Charlie Kennedy,  Alfie had played for Boleskine since the early sixties and had filled most positions in the team over the years , he retired the next season. Billy Mackay who at one point played senior shinty with Glenurquhart when Boleskine were in abeyance was picked for Scotland international team twice against the Irish, was an outstanding player at centre or half back  .  Billy as a twelve year old played for Boleskine in goals in 1962 when he won the Srathdearn juvenile cup and prior to retiring in 1987 played the last season in goals.  Billy had the unenviable position in 1966, of being employed as a labourer by the British Aluminium Factory at Foyers on the Monday, only to be made redundant along with the rest of the sixty eight strong workforce when it closed down the next day . Charlie Kennedy had won his place in the Boleskine team as a fourteen year old but was a excellent footballer player also, it was to the sport of football he favoured where he won the Highland League championship medal with Clachnacudden in 1975 . Charlie used to play for the team intermittently late on the Shinty season when the football season was over, came back to play shinty in 1985 for a couple of years when he retired from football .

Joey Smith made his début for the club as a 13 year old in the Sutherland cup second round in 1967 and nearly forty years later he is still playing for the club, turning out in his customary full back role. Joey is probably the only player singularly ever to have caused the rules of play to be amended, when the Camanachd Association, controversially banned the sliding tackle which he perfected over the years to an art form.  Joey has been a great club servant over the years and in 1986 was voted by the  North Clubs joint equal as North Player of the Year, only to have the honour bestowed by the North Committee on John Fraser of Newtonmore as it was probably the only award he had never won .

Willie Swanson from Inverfarigaig played for the club from 1985 till about twelve years later, occupying several different position over the period , but generally played in goals . Ali Cameron (Barns) from Glenlia Foyers played for the  club as a fourteen year old in 1979 was the winning captain of the Glenmhor Cup team in1990 and Div 3 title the next year retired from the game in 1998 ?.  Andy Cameron (Cammy) older brother of Ali, was also a Glenmore winning captain in 1991, played centre or buckshee back for the team. Andy who would have won district honours as an U21 if he had attended trial matches, played from 1979 till he retired in the late nineties .  Alister Chisholm from Gorthleck played goals for the club for a couple of seasons then retired to assist in running the team, Jim Chisholm younger brother of Alister first played for the club in 1973 and retired in 2004 ,was instrumental in reforming the club in 1976 after it had been in abeyance for a year, Jim main position over the years was full forward where his dogged determination and skill  won the respect and admiration of his opposite number. For a couple of seasons Jim played in goal were he proved to be as good a goal stopper as goal scorer. Alan Sumner played for the club from 1985 till 2004 where he excelled at centre or buckshie back, a great long hitter of the ball, Allan was the nephew of Angie and Ala Macgruer both Sutherland cup medal winners, Angie with Beauly and Ala with Boleskine in 1964 .   Kevin Stewart made his debut for the club as a thirteen year old in frosty December day in 1977 against Kilmallie and scored with  his first touch of the ball . Played forward and occasionally in goals till early nineties when he retired, made comeback in 2003 interim season and played the next year also.  Duncan Macmillian from Aberarder  wing centre or forward was an under rated player capable of delivering defence splitting passes with consulate ease.  Duncan Macdonald  full centre or forward player, played for the club from as a fourteen year old in 1976 till 2003 was for many years secretary and filled most other committee rolls including President. Duncan the founder of the web site, was the third generation of his family to captain a team from the area, his grandfather Duncan captained Foyers in 1913 approx and his father George (Teep) Macdonald Foyers in 1947 Boleskine 1953   .  Billy Cameron a cousin of Ali and Andy was an outstanding player at wing back who died tragically as the result of a  road accident when he was 24. The Boleskine player of the year trophy is in his memory  .

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