Donald Roderick (DR) MacDonald – A Tribute. | |
08 March 2010 DR MacDonald was born in Tigharry, North Uist on 17 February 1937. He went to Primary School in Tigharry followed by Paible Secondary School before becoming a pupil at Portree High School in 1954.
However it was to be during his university days in Glasgow that Peter English persuaded DR to become actively involved in the Glasgow shinty scene. DR only had the briefest shinty experience before arriving in Glasgow but when the University side was a man short for a match with Oban Lorne in the Camanachd Cup, DR was roped in by Peter English and Donald MacKay for his first competitive match at the famous Mossfield Park, Oban. The Glasgow boys didn’t win but DR had one shot at goal and scored. DR was to eventually captain the University team and Skye Camanachd has much to thank Peter for!
In 1964, DR helped form Glasgow Kelvin Shinty Club in an effort to keep former University players in the game. Shinty was soon to benefit from such foresight.
DR graduated at Glasgow University before carrying out his teacher training at Jordanhill. He returned to Portree High School in August 1965, and became Head of the Gaelic Department in 1971.
His return was a pivotal moment in the history of Skye Camanachd. The club had fallen into abeyance in 1964 when the burden of organising and financing the club, coupled with the fact that some key players were now based in Glasgow, meant on field activity slowed to a gentle halt.
DR recognised that an influx of enthusiastic and dedicated youth players would be required if the club were to resurface with renewed vigour. This point was highlighted in Martin MacDonald’s excellent account of Skye Camanachd’s first 100 years titled “Skye Camanachd - A Century Remembered.”
Primary School age children enjoyed little or no shinty participation during the late 1960s. Skye Camanachd stalwart Donnie Martin was at Kilmuir Primary School at the time and his school along with many others on the Island received a batch of camans to help foster the sport amongst the youngsters. “The first day we got them, we smashed a ball through a classroom window and the camans were locked away after that,” he recalls.
Donnie “Digg” MacDonald won the Camanachd Cup with Skye Camanachd in 1990. However as a primary school pupil he knew little of the game. “I simply didn’t know what shinty was at that age,” he said reflecting that lack of any coaching or guidance in many parts of the Island at the time.
Their defining moment came when they commenced secondary education at Portree High School. All boys at that time were asked to select a first and second choice for their activities. Not surprisingly, most picked football first followed by rugby. However when they went to check the activities list on the school notice board, they were surprised to find that their successful “choice” was shinty.
Little did they know that DR MacDonald had painstakingly examined the pupils’ role from his various Gaelic classes and selected the most likely shinty prospects to take under his wing!
And he made some good choices. Ewen “Yogi” Grant, Alasdair Cruickshank, John Murchison and John “Bodach” MacKenzie were to join Martin and MacDonald in “DR’s shinty school.” These players were to become mainstays in the Skye Camanachd side which reconstituted itself on 2 September 1969 before eventually entering MacGillivray Senior League in 1971.
As well as attending to the club’s youth system DR took up the role of player and became club secretary in 1970.
The shinty coaching on Skye grew from strength to strength. DR, ably assisted by Donnie MacKinnon, Colonel Jock MacDonald and Jonacks MacKenzie, ensured that the initial High School activities participation was extended to after school sessions for both High School and Portree Primary School pupils. So keen were the Sconser youngsters to take part that they used to hitch a lift to Portree on a Saturday morning for the 2 hour coaching session before making the same treck home again, often on a winter’s morning. A couple of enthusiastic ex-players were also recruited to enable primary school shinty sessions to take place outwith Portree.
It was not long before their efforts began to bear fruit. During the 1972-73 season, Skye Camanachd Juveniles entered the MacTavish Juvenile Cup, the Strathdearn Juvenile Cup, the MacBean Cup and the MacPherson Cup and they won the WJ Cameron Cup.
1974 saw Portree Primary School, under DR’s guidance; win the National MacKay Cup for the first team. The side included 1990 Camanachd Cup winners Willie Cowie, Willie MacRae, Duncan MacDougall and 1990 captain Caley MacLean. The same year DR led the Portree High School team to the MacBean Cup and they also retained the WJ Cameron Trophy. Camanachd Cup winners Donnie “Digg” MacDonald and John “Slippy” Finlayson were part of the side as the youth strategy began to pay-off.
In a tribute to DR in the 1974-75 Shinty Year Book, the late Kenneth Campbell wrote, “If we had someone like DR in all our Secondary High Schools, there would not be the need for Shinty Forums. DR did not go to meetings and pontificate on what was wrong with the game and how it should be put right. NO! He went out on the field and he taught the boys that this ancient game of ours is unsurpassed and as a training for life, they could not do better than master its disciplines.”
What followed was an unprecedented period of success at youth level for shinty on Skye. The MacBean Cup was won again in 1976 and Portree High School successfully defended this trophy until 1984 and other Camanachd Cup winners such as John MacRae and Peter Gordon played in these sides.
When Skye Camanachd replaced their unwieldy selection committee system in 1976 with a dedicated first team and second team manager system, club stalwart Donnie MacKinnon took charge of the first team and it was no surprise that DR took on the second team manager’s role. This allowed him to nurture the youth talent and introduce them to senior shinty and prepare them for a career in the first team.
The youngsters matured and through the years, MacGillivray League, Sutherland Cup and Strathdearn Cup successes were enjoyed before the whole Island rejoiced as Skye won what DR always referred to as “the big one” in 1990.
DR also had a period as Skye Camanachd first team manager, reaching the Balliemore Cup Final in 2003 before losing out to Strathglass after extra time.
When Portree Primary School won the 2005 MacKay Cup, a hastily put together celebration was organised at the Skye Camanachd Clubhouse with each player receiving a memento from the club. There was only once choice to make the presentation and as the youngsters sat in silence, DR told them of his delight when he heard the news that Portree had won the trophy for the first time since 1974. They smiled when he showed them how high he had jumped when he heard the result and they listened intently as he gave them an inspirational talk, encouraging them to continue to practice their shinty skills and to listen to their coaches’ advice. He was in no doubt that if they did this, then history could repeat itself and “the big one” could return to Skye once more.
DR was made a Camanachd Association Member of Honour in 2008 and he could always be seen standing at his favourite spot at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree, on the touchline to the players right as they ran out onto the field. He continued to offer words of encouragement to the players, especially the younger ones. He had this tremendous ability to enthuse everyone around him. There were few higher accolades than DR telling you that you had done a good job.
DR’s absence will be greatly felt throughout the shinty community but especially on Skye where he made such an impact. For Skye Camanachd, DR’s passing is like losing the head of the family and to Somhairle, Aonghas and to Gilleasbuig, who know what that really means, the club extends their deepest sympathies.
Skye Camanachd Chairman Ross Cowie summed up the feelings of the club when he said, “DR’s passing is a massive loss and much will be written about this remarkable man. This is the end of an era and shinty and Skye Camanachd in particular have lost a favourite son, a friend, a mentor, an ambassador and above all a true gentleman who impacted on so many of our lives. As a youth when DR said, “Well played lad,” your chest would expand and your face would beam with pride. “That’s what it was all about,” you thought, “not just the score.” How fortunate we were when this remarkable Uidhistich landed on our shores all those years ago. DR’s contribution to shinty over these last 40 years is immeasurable and much of what has been achieved in Skye would not have happened without DR. There would have been no Camanachd Cup but there was. So as this chapter ends, the legacy that he leaves behind ensures that the book is far from finished. Beyond shinty though, we recognise the acute personal loss of a father and a brother which cannot be replaced and our deepest sympathies go to the boys and their extended families at this saddest of times.”
Cuimhnich air na daoine bho'n tainaig sibh. |