Eoghan Stewart Thanks Skye Camanachd As He Prepares For Pastures New. | |
10 August 2011 Eoghan Stewart has passed on his thanks to Skye Camanachd for letting him play a part in the club’s development over the last four years. In an open letter to the club, Eoghan said, “I would like to thank everyone at Skye Camanachd for making me feel at home over the last four years. As I move on to a new job in Edinburgh I felt it important to say thank you to the many friends I made in my time in Skye for the kindness they showed me. As a young boy, I watched the “Home” documentary of the 1990 Camanachd Cup win and it was my first experience of shinty but little could I imagine that I would one day be a player, coach and volunteer at the club. If I hadn’t been in the same class at Glasgow University as Somhairle MacDonald, I certainly would not have been. When I think about how grateful I am to Somhairle for introducing me to shinty, it always strikes me that shinty in Skye would have been quite different if Somhairle’s father D.R. himself had not been drafted to play shinty for Glasgow University at short notice in his own student days. History so often turns on small decisions or occurrences such as that. The highlights of my time at Skye Camanachd include, among others, the Alba-Eirinn international in Portree, being water boy at the Balliemore Cup win, pulling on the white strip for the first time, the continuing success of the under-14 sides, beating champions elect Lovat on the last day of the season, sending the club to break new ground in California and getting the Skye Camanachd Ladies team set-up out of the successful Portree High School team with Lorna MacRae being selected for Scotland. Oh yes, and scoring in the Ewen Morrison Memorial Cup! It was a great experience to be Aonghas MacDonald’s assistant for one and a half seasons as well as working for four years with Willie Cowie in the under-14 set-up. In working with great players and characters such as Gilleasbuig MacDonald, Willie MacRae, Kenny “Beag” Campbell, Ian “Duchan” MacPherson, David Grant and AB Connor to name just a few, I have gained an excellent education in shinty and many other things! I’ll let them decide whether they fall into the category of great player or great character. Off the park I’ve also learned a lot about how to run a club from people such as Donnie Martin, Alasdair Bruce and Janet MacVicar. It was a pleasure to also work with Ross Cowie as part of Lucky2BHere and I suppose I should also mention Davie MacVicar. I’d like to make a special mention to all the youth players too numerous to mention who presented me with a hand-made mounted caman on my final day at Portree High School. I cannot express how much that meant to me and I wish them all the best and hope that they put in the effort in training and playing that is necessary to rise to the top of the sport. I’d also like to thank everyone at the club for being so supportive of Lewis Camanachd in our efforts to bring shinty to the Outer Hebrides. Skye Camanachd is a shining example of how to make a club part of the local community and I am sure one day soon it will have a team competing at the top level again. But no matter the level the club is playing at, being involved with your mates every Saturday, win lose or draw, is what shinty is all about and will always remain so and the four years I have spent with Skye Camanachd will live with me for the rest of my life. Na mille beannachd air na cluicheadairean, gach cuid sean is òg, na coidseachan, na buill-comataidh agus na daoine saor-thoileach aig Camanachd an Eilein. Gu math fada beò spòrs nan Gàidheal an Eilean a’ Cheò!” Eoghan Skye Camanachd also has much to thank Eoghan for during his four years with the club. “I wonder how we ever survived before Eoghan came along,” said Skye Camanachd Chairman Ross Cowie with a smile. “Seriously though, Eoghan has crammed a lot into a short period of time with the club. He has an infectious personality which along with his energy and enthusiasm rubs off on others. He was the force behind the club’s recent trip to California and it was a shame that work commitments prevented him from attending. He had on the field involvement at senior and junior level but his biggest legacy will probably be the newly formed Skye Camanachd Ladies team. The team evolved from the Portree High School Girls team which Eoghan led and which has grown from strength to strength. I’m sure the Skye Camanachd Ladies team will do like-wise. Eoghan was a big help to Lucky2bhere with his computer advice and I hope he will remain involved when in Edinburgh. Skye’s loss is Edinburgh’s gain and once Eoghan has sorted out the Parliament and the Edinburgh Festival, he will hopefully have time for a bit of shinty. We are not saying goodbye as Eoghan will always be welcome back at the club and we hope to see him often. And who knows, if he can cut that swing down a bit, then he might even make a shinty player!” |