Research Project
The Place of Shinty in the Social History of Badenoch and Strathspey

1] The Funders The funding has been provided principally by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Cairngorms Local Action Group LEADER 2007-2013 Programme. We are very grateful to them for their support.

2] The research themes The research themes were identified from the scoping study funded through the Cairngorms National Park Authority These are the origins of Camanachd in Badenoch and Strathspey; social and economic conditions reflected in shinty; Badenoch’s role in developing shinty into an organised sport; material culture; literature and music; language – Gaelic in shinty; camanachd and local identity; other developments like women’s shinty, children’s shinty & summer shinty; oral history…capturing peoples memories before they are lost.

3] The approved purposes of the project

• To help preserve and protect the written and oral history and material culture of shinty in Badenoch and Strathspey
• To interpret the place of shinty in the social history of Badenoch and Strathspey
• To make oral history recordings and preserve these for future access
• To identify records for deposit in the Highland Archives for use by the public
• To give holder of archives and artefacts advice on how best to preserve their holdings
• To make a photographic record of shinty artefacts and make these available to the public
• To compile a comprehensive catalogue of all sources including songs, poetry and bagpipe music so that these can be accessed
• To educate people through the production of a booklet and by holding exhibitions
• To involve people who volunteer to be interviewed, through the holding of the exhibition, in the staging of a match re-enactment and through social networking and the schools environment

4] Have you some valuable items? From May 2011 to June 2013 we hope to uncover all the important sources of information about shinty in Badenoch and Strathspey including photographs, memorabilia, old equipment, poems and bagpipe music. If you have anything of interest please e-mail the researcher Rosemary Gibson at bs.shinty@gmail.com. Grantown was one of the founding clubs of the Camanachd Association in 1895 so Strathspey people could have long lost items hidden in their attics!

We are also wanting to record memories of a selection of people that have lived through the different eras of shinty so if you are interested in taking part please contact Rosemary by e-mail or phone 01540 673048.

5] The booklet and travelling exhibition These will be produced in the late spring of 2013. The 70 page booklet will be made available for sale widely. The travelling exhibition will be seen at the Newtonmore museum, Laggan village hall, Grantown museum and the Highland Archives in Inverness

6] Could you help? Many of the activities that we want to carry out will take time. Would you be willing to help? It could be helping to staff the exhibitions, making outfits for the re-enactment match or perhaps taking photographs of memorabilia.        

7] Questions? A Q & A is appended below. If you have questions that haven’t been answered or you would like more information please e-mail secretary@newtonmoreshinty.com          

Questions and answers

1] Q Where is the money for the project coming from

A] Nearly all the funding is from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Cairngorms National Park Authority/LEADER

2] Q Why can the money not be used for buying camans and the other general running costs of the Club

A] The grant money is specifically for this project and cannot be used for any other purpose. Any unspent money will need to be returned to the two grant bodies. [We can retain any bank interest from the grant money in our bank account to help with our running costs]

3] Q How much is this going to cost Newtonmore Shinty Club

A] It is not going to cost the club anything. On the contrary we are being allowed to retain the profit from the sale of the booklet that is being produced. We expect to make more than £5k which we hope can be used to help produce a history of Newtonmore Camanachd Club.

4] Q Why not just produce a history of the club now which is what people have been wanting for years?

A] The small study [funded by the Cairngorms National Park Authority] that was undertaken during the summer of 2010 showed that although Jack Richmond had collected a lot of valuable information several years ago there were very large gaps which needed further research. The research for this larger project will provide the gaps in the information needed to produce an accurate history of the club.

5] Q Why get involved in history projects at all? We are a shinty club.

A] Some of the objectives of the club in its constitution are to preserve and make available to the wider public memorabilia related to the game; promote shinty to residents and tourists as an integral part of local culture; and to work on behalf of the greater good of shinty. This project meets these objectives.

6] Q What is this project going to produce?

A] The main things are a 70 page booklet and a small travelling exhibition for display at venues like the Museum, Laggan Hall, Grantown Museum and Highland Archives in Inverness. It will also produce a catalogue of poetry, bagpipe music and of all records, photographs and artefacts that can be traced.

7] Q Who will do the research?

A] A panel including a representative from the club, Highland Museums and the Cairngorms National Park Authority selected Mrs Rosemary Gibson from the 17 applications received for the position. Mrs Gibson is the author of a number of Scottish history books including the Scottish Countryside : it's Changing Face and the Appin Murder : in their own Words; a number of articles in historical magazines on subjects such as the Declaration of Arbroath and the Articles of Union; and a number of historical exhibitions and booklets on subjects including Highland Clearances and Emigration, Jacobites, Rob Roy and the Darien Scheme. She has a Diploma in Gaelic, and a Diploma on Interpretation Management and is pursuing a further postgraduate qualification in Scottish Material Culture at the Gaelic College which has involved research into local history in Badenoch and Strathspey.

8] Q How will the project be managed?

A] A Steering group is being set up with representatives of the club, the Museum, the Cairngorms National Park Authority and other organisations.

9] Q Who else will be involved?

A][ Expert advice has already been taken from the Highland Council archives, Grantown museum and others and we intend to continue to do that. One of the requirements of the funders is that we involve volunteers in general and schoolchildren in particular in the project.

10] Q Won’t the content of the booklet overlap with the propose history of the club?

A] No. The content of the booklet will be about different issues from any history of the club.

11] Q What are the plans to produce a history of the club?

A] As mentioned above this research project should fill in the gaps to allow an accurate history to be produced at the end of the project. We should also make a profit from the sales of the booklet. We have also identified a potential source of grant funding that would pay for part of the cost of any book. We intend to apply for this funding in 2013 after the committee has taken a decision on who they wish to write the book.

23rd March 2011