Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Oban clubs condemn Mossfield vandalism

Anger among officials after vandals strike at the shinty venue

The fire damage and graffiti at Mossfield  Stadium. Image: Alasdair Bruce.
The fire damage and graffiti at Mossfield Stadium. Image: Alasdair Bruce.

Shinty rivals Oban Camanachd and Oban Celtic are united in their condemnation following acts of vandalism which were carried out at Oban’s Mossfield Stadium at the weekend.

Part of the seated area in the main stand looked to have been burnt whilst there was graffiti on the back wall.

Broken glass and litter were strewn on the ground.

Oban Camanachd manager Gareth Evans was appalled by the latest happenings.

He said: “It is really sad to see what’s happened at Mossfield but it’s no surprise as there is broken glass on playing surface every weekend.

“The local council and the police really have to get together soon and sort this problem out fast.

“They are failing the clubs and the ground staff in particular as they do a tremendous job keeping the park in fantastic condition.

“This might help the council focus on getting Mossfield back up to the high standard it once was as the changing rooms and public toilets are a disgrace and an embarrassment to the town.”

Mossfield is one of shinty’s iconic stadiums

The fire damage at Mossfield Stadium in Oban
The fire damage at Mossfield Stadium in Oban. Image: Alasdair Bruce

As well as being home to Mowi Premiership side Oban Camanachd and Oban Celtic from the Mowi National Division throughout the year, it also hosts major cup finals.

It is the venue for the televised Artemis Macaulay Cup final each year, the only final to guarantee a clash between a north and south side, which always attracts a big crowd.

It last held shinty’s showpiece event, the Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup final in 2021 has been a fixture on the cup finals circuit for many years.

It is also used for several other non-shinty events throughout the year.

Oban Celtic stalwart Davie Hamilton was also frustrated by the vandalism.

He said: “This is a big problem for Oban.

“The damage at Mossfield is becoming a regular occurrence at weekends and the biggest problem is the broken glass on the field of play.

“It makes it so difficult for the Mossfield ground staff as if they miss any of it when gathering it up, then it’s a problem for the players and we could end up with someone being seriously injured over this.”

The new shinty season begins on Saturday March 2, but both Oban Camanachd and Oban Celtic are scheduled to use Mossfield for pre-season friendlies.

Conversation