The Highland Folk Museum is located in the heartland of shinty (camanachd in Gaelic), roughly halfway between the famous clubs, and rivals – Kingussie and Newtonmore. The sport is a firm fixture of community life in Badenoch, past and present, and the museum holds a number of objects and archival material that tell the story of shinty.
The museum has been awarded funding from Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) to research and develop its shinty collections. The funding has allowed a member of staff to be employed on an 18 month contract, until early 2021. Helen Pickles, Project Officer (Shinty Memories and Material Culture) will be researching, documenting and digitising the shinty collections, and keeping you up to date with the camanachd craic throughout the project – check back for regular blog posts.
Blog Post #1, Part 1 – Shinty: the ancient and noble game
Blog Post #1, Part 2 – The shinty collection, from ball to building
Blog Post #2 – The Caman; an art and a craft
Blog Post #3 – Shinty through the Wars
Blog Post #4 – The Camanachd Cup
The project is running in partnership with Badenoch Shinty Memories, a local community group who use shinty photographs and artefacts as a reminiscence tool to connect with local people, including those who are living with dementia or other mental health issues, and those suffering from loneliness or isolation. Forgotten memories and new conversations can be sparked off by sharing a passion for the sport, and we’re looking forward to seeing what can be achieved by the two organisations working together throughout this project.
This project is being supported by Museums Galleries Scotland and Badenoch Shinty Memories, who receive funding from Life Changes Trust. The Trust is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.
Find Badenoch Shinty Memories on Facebook here
For all enquiries about the project please contact [email protected]
