The Glasgow Celtic Society Cup is a knock-out cup competition in the sport of shinty. Entry is open to all senior teams from the South District playing in the Premier Division and South Division One. It is the oldest competition in the sport, first being played for in 1879.[1] It is one of the five trophies considered to be part of the Grand Slam in the sport of shinty.[2]
The final is always played at Old Anniesland and it is organised by the Glasgow Celtic Society in conjunction with the Camanachd Association, not by the Camanachd Association itself. The Celtic Society did not originally run the competition but presented the trophy to the Glasgow Shinty Association. Upon the demise of this organisation the Celtic Society took over the running of the competition.[3]
In 1888, Inveraray played Furnace in the final and disputed the validity of a goal. The club took legal action and the cup was suspended for 12 years.[4]
Teams from the North sometimes entered and Lovat won the Celtic on a couple of occasions in 1950 and 1951.
Inveraray were champions in 2009, defeating Oban Camanachd 3-2. The competition has two unique bylaws - firstly all free-hits are direct and secondly, the penalty area is significantly larger, akin to a football penalty area, any infringement within this area culminates in a penalty hit. The restrictions regarding entry into the D and off-side remain the same as in the normal rules of shinty.[5]
As of 2010, the opening rounds of the cup will be played midweek, in order to reduce the backlog of fixtures that has regularly afflicted shinty.[6]
In 2011, the Directors of the Glasgow Celtic Society decided to play the final at the Winterton Park, Inveraray on Saturday 25th June. Only two of the previous 106 cup finals were played outside of Glasgow.[7] This decision was based on a lack of sponsorship for the cup and the cost of hiring Old Anniesland.