Skye Camanachd First Team Managers. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
07 January 2010 Aonghas MacDonald became Skye Camanachd’s 10th first team manager since the club was reformed in 1969 when he took up the post during the 2009 shinty season. Initially from 1969, team selection was made by a 7 man selection committee. However matters came to a head in the mid 1970s when a squad of 19 was selected for a Skye Camanachd away match but fewer than 12 players actually turned up! A committee meeting thereafter decided that having one manager in charge was the best way forward and Donnie MacKinnon was selected as the first team manager. MacKinnon managed the side from 1976 until 1981 and his side won the Sutherland Cup in 1979. MacKinnon was succeeded by John Angus Morrison in 1981 and he won the Sutherland Cup in his first season in charge with victory over Calum Murchison took over for a 3 year period in 1986 and had a Torlundy Cup win – with Willie Cowie winning player of the tournament - to his name. Ross Cowie led Skye Camanachd to the most successful period in the club’s history. Runners up in North Division 1 and MacTavish Cup runners up were second prizes but Cowie’s team won the biggest prize of all when they took the 1990 Camanachd Cup over the sea to Skye for the one and only time in the club’s history. Skye’s Willie MacRae won the Albert Smith medal as man of the match and the team won the hearts of an Ross Cowie is the Skye Camanachd first team’s longest serving manager with a total of 8 years service from his 3 periods in charge. John Finlayson took over from Cowie in 1991 but he had to contend with a depleted squad due to several retrials and injury problems. Cowie again led the team before Angie Murchison’s appointment in 1998 which coincided with the opening of the new Clubhouse and pitch at Pairc nan Laoich. Murchison’s team qualified for the new National Premier Division 1 in his first season in charge. He won the Division the year after to secure a place in the Marine Harvest Premier League. Skye were relegated back to North Division 1 in 2001. Ross Cowie then returned for a year in the hot seat and was followed by DR MacDonald in 2002 with Murchison again and Donnie Martin having turns in charge before the appointment of Ally Morrison in 2006. Morrison introduced a more youthful squad and got his rewards when the team won the 2008 Balliemore Cup Final. Angie Murchison inherited a fine young squad at the start of the 2009 season and but he stood down midway through the campaign and was replaced by Aonghas MacDonald who’s side eventually finished a creditable third place in the league. There are some interesting family connections amongst the Skye Camanachd managers. Camanachd Cup winner Ross Cowie is the nephew of Donnie MacKinnon, the first manager to take on the role since the club was re-instated in 1969. Angie Murchison is the nephew of Calum Murchison. Calum Murchison and John Angus Morrison are half brothers and John Angus and his son Ally were the first father and son to manage the Skye Camanachd first team. They were later followed by another father and son - DR MacDonald and Aonghas MacDonald. In other words, apart from John Finlayson and Donnie Martin, the first team manager’s position has been shared between 3 families – the MacKinnon / Cowie family, the Murchison / Morrison family and the MacDonald family. www.skyecamanachd.com would like to thank Donnie MacKinnon, John Angus Morrison and Keith MacKenzie for their assistance in compiling this list.
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