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1 :- Kenny Mackay Kildonan, 2 :- Unknown, 3 :- Donald Joseph Macdonald Whitebridge Hotel, 4 :- Dan Bethune Corriegarth, 5 :- Angus Cooper Drumtemple, 6 :- Duncan Cameron (Beinn Sgurrach), 7 :- John Macpherson Sporting Stores Inverness, 8 :-Jock Cameron (The Glebe), 9 :- Conn Barron Inverness, 10 :- Angus Macdonald Whitebridge Hotel, 11 :- William Patterson Beauly, 12 :- Willie Robertson Wester Aberchalder, 13 :- A Matheson Gorthleck Mains, 14 :- unknown, 15 :- W.J Mackillop Inverness town clerk, 16 :- Ian Campbell Garthbeg, 17 :- Tommy Cooper Drumtemple, 18 :- William Macintyre Erchless Strathglass, 19 :- Willie John Campbell Garthbeg, 20 :- John Kennedy Foyers, 21:- Murdo Macleod Mealagy, 22 :- Kenny Moir Muir of Ord, 23 :- Jimmy Fraser Inverness (Auctioneer), 24 :- Duncan Macdonald Compass (Dad the Shop), 25 :- Bob Macdonald Compass (Bob the shop), 26 :- Alister Macdonald Whitebridge Hotel, 27:- Jock Kennedy Captain Drumtemple, 28 :- Captain John P Macgillivray Calrossie , 29 :- Alister Gow Dell, 30 :- Roddy Macintosh (the Baker) Lyne of Gorthleck
The two unknowns numbers 2 & 14 one is George Matheson Kirkhill who refereed the match
The Stratherrick team of 1925 will always be remembered as the first winners of the Macgillivray Senior League, but what history does not record is how close that team came, to achieving senior national glory. In the Mactavish Cup, Stratherrick beat Foyers 3 goals to two in the first round, in the District final Inverness were defeated on the Bught by six goals to one. The semi final played at Inverness, Lovat were defeated by eight goals to one to reach the Mactavish Cup final for the third time. The final played in early March at the Bught park Inverness in front of over one thousand spectators, was between Stratherrick and Speanbridge, whom they had met three years previously in the final . Stratherrick scored first through Alister Macdonald but by half time Spean had equalised, and midway through the second half scored twice in quick succession. Stratherrick pulled one back late on via Alister Macdonald but to no avail, as Speanbridge lifted the cup by three goals to two.
In the Blue ribbon event of shinty the Camanachd cup, Stratherrick won their District for the first time, in the first round beating Foyers by four goals to one at Garthbeg. In the district final Stratherrick had home advantage again, this time playing hosts to their old adversaries Kingussie at Garthbeg. For the first time, after four unsuccessful attempts to beat them in the Camanachd cup, they won by three to nil the scores being Bob Macdonald, Angus Macdonald & Murdo Macleod. The semi-final saw them facing the same opponents as the Mactavish cup semi-final Lovat, bearing in mind how heavily they defeated Lovat previously, perhaps complacency crept through the team because against all the odds at Beauly, Lovat won the game by two goals to one. The Stratherrick team was the same as the previous encounter whilst Lovat showed one change, 31 minutes into the first half Lovat scored and the added a second in 57minutes. Stratherrick dominated from this period till the end, scoring with about ten minutes to go, in the remaining minutes they pressing hard for the equaliser, but time passed all to quickly and they had to acknowledge defeat, along with their cup final hopes for another year.
These two defeats a fortnight apart, left Stratherrick with only league glory, to salvage what had looked to be a very successful season. The Macgillivray league or as it was called initially, the Northern Shinty league was brought into existence, because of concern by shinty enthusiasts, that the game of Shinty was in decline after its great upsurgence following the cessation of Word War One. They came to the conclusion that if a generous donor came forward with a trophy, they could form a league and so arrest the decline in shinty's popularity.
Mr John Macpherson the Sporting Emporium Inverness one of those shinty enthusiasts, acting alone, he wrote to his old friend Capt John P Macgillivray Calrossie, about the possibility of donating a trophy and was telegramed back with the promise of One Hundred pounds. With the funding now secure the D P Macgillivray Cup ( in memory of the donor's late brother also first Secretary of Camanachd Association) and badges were purchased.
The league was split into section to minimize traveling, the Ross shire section being Caberfiedh, Garve, Dingwall, Strathconnon, Tain & Conon. The Inverness-shire section comprised of Inverness, Foyers, Strathdearn, Strathnairn, Stratherrick, Beauly & Lovat. The league were started in Nov1924 and carried through to April 25 with the winners for the Ross-shire District being Caberfiedh and for Inverness-shire were Stratherrick, with their nearest rivals being, Lovat . The final game to decide the destiny of the Cup refereed by George Matheson (Kirkhill), was played at Beauly on the Saturday 9th May 1925, the weather being wet and the ground heavy and slippery. Seven minutes into the final Stratherrick who had started the better scored but a few minutes later Caberfeidh responded by drawing level, this spurred on Stratherrick and by half time had scored twice to lead by three goals to one. In the second half Caberfeidh came more into the game and scored in 60 minutes, from then on Stratherrick were lucky to have Ian Campbell (goals) & Alister Gow (full back) in their best form as it was a backs to the wall performance to keep the Caberfeidh forwards from scoring in the remaining thirty minutes. Stratherrick held on to win the game by three goals to two, and at the high tea in the Lovat Arms Hotel, Beauly following the game their President Willie Robertson was handed the cup by the donor, Captain John P Macgillivray and the players were presented with gold badges.
The picture has two future presidents of the Camanachd Association in it, William Patterson Beauly 1937-48 and his successor J W MacKillop C.B.E.
Of the players, seven featured in the Boleskine Camanachd cup final team of 1928, Ian & Willie Campbell , Alister Gow, Jock Kennedy, Jock Cameron, Angus Macdonald and Roddy Mackintosh.
Two of the players Jock Kennedy and Roddy Mackintosh played in the Camanachd cup final for other clubs, Spean Bridge 1926 and Caberfiedh 1935 respectively, when the Stratherrick Club was in abeyance .
Though there is three Macdonald's from Whitebridge Hotel pictured here, was also another brother Roderick (Rory) playing this season, this final was one of the few games he missed. Tragically two of the brothers died as the result of motor bike accidents, Alister in 1928 and Donald Joseph a two years later at Dores.
Simon Cameron is another player who is known to have played this season in both Camanachd and Mactavish Semi Finals .
Six of the players in the Stratherrick team had graduated from their Strathdearn Cup winning junior team of 1922 Donald Joseph MacDonald, Duncan Cameron, Jock Cameron, Murdo McLeod, Alister Macdonald, Roddy Mackintosh.
The Campbell brothers Ian and Willie John had played for Stratherrick before the First World War, but Ian now played only in goals, on account of losing a lung during the war.
No 4:- Dan Bethune (Corriegarth) was a well know local referee whose son Murdo also played for the team in the early twenties prior to moving to Persia (Iran) to work, his other son Ian was goalkeeper in Stratherrick's 1937 Strathdearn Final team .
Stratherrick Shinty team did not enter any organised competition, regional or national till the 1919-20 season, they only played friendly games or the Hussy cup against Foyers. In their first season of competitive shinty they reached the final of the Mactavish and won the Strathdearn Cup.
Stratherrick in September 1925 reached the Final of the Northern Meeting six a sides in Inverness by defeating Lovat by three goals to one in the semi-final. In the Final they went down to Kingussie by four goals to one, the team was Rory V Macdonald, Jock Kennedy, Angus Macdonald, Alister Macdonald, Roddy Mackintosh and Bob Macdonald.
In mid December of 1925 it was announced in the sporting press, that at a meeting of the Stratherrick Camanachd Club it was decided that on account of bereavements in the homes of some of the players and the impossibility of finding sufficient substitutes, they will withdraw from all competition for the forth coming season 1925-26. This was a sad postscript to what had been their most successful season to date and no doubt had detrimental effect on the long term sustainability of the club.
In this season some of their players turned out for other clubs, Jock Kennedy won a Strathdearn Cup medal with Foyers and also played in the losing Spean Bridge, Camanachd Cup final team at Oban . The Inverness Shinty Club's team, included seven players from Stratherrick, for their first round Camanachd cup match against Beauly in 1925-26 season.
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