Till The Centenary 1946-1987
Inverness played their first match since 1939 on 9 February 1946. It was a friendly against Newtonmore who won the match 5-1. In a hectic week in 1947 Inverness beat Caberfeidh on the Tuesday, Lovat on Thursday and Lochcarron on Saturday to take the Lochcarron Cup (the result was Inverness 5, Lochcarron 1) and a second Inverness team was formed for the 1947–1948 season.
In 1950 Inverness played Oban Celtic in the final of the MacAuley Cup but was beaten 2-1. In 1951 Dennis Swanson (Team Captain) scored the winning goal against Oban Celtic to win the Torlundy Cup. On 12 April 1952 at Old Anniesland (Glasgow) 10,000 spectators watched as Inverness and Oban Celtic played a riveting game. Oban were two goals in the lead but Inverness fought back and won the day with a final score of Inverness 3, Oban Celtic 2. This is the only time to date that Inverness has won the Camanachd Cup and upon their return to Inverness on Sunday the players received a great welcome. Mr William MacKenzie (Front row, second from the left) has the distinction of being the only player to participate in both the 1938 and 1952 Camanachd Cup finals. The Manager and Coach of this cup winning side was Tom MacKenzie who had previously formed the Inverness Harriers and would go onto much greater things in the coming years. In November 1954 a Special General Meeting was called to discuss the future of the club. It was decided that both a senior and junior team could be fielded. However by 1956 a lack of players (caused by several players returning to Glenurquhart upon its revival) meant that a junior team could not be raised. In 1955 Inverness won the MacAulay cup for the first time by beating Oban Celtic 2-1 at Oban.
In 1963 Inverness was defeated 2-1 by Newtonmore in the Final of the MacTavish Cup. The number of players had gone down again by the 1967–1968 season and in addition the North of Scotland Association split the league in two and Inverness had to participate in the one containing Kingussie, Newtonmore, Kilmallie and Glenurquhart.
From 1973 till 1976 Tom MacKenzie, former manager and Coach for Inverness, was made President of the Camanachd Association, a position which he felt very honoured to hold. In 1977 the Inverness District Council donated a Jubilee Shield to the winning team of a six-a-side tournament. This has become the premier six-a-side event in shinty attracting clubs from all over the country and is even attended, on occasion, by London Camanachd.
In the 1978–1979 season Inverness won division 2 of the MacGillivray League. This was the clubs first major trophy for over twenty years. In 1980 Tom MacKenzie became Chieftain of the Camanachd Association and in 1984 both he and the then President John W. Campbell travelled to Thurlos, Ireland, to consult with the Irish Gaelic Athletic Association. This visit lead to the setting up of the annual Shinty / Hurling International and the rules by which the game would be played. Also in the autumn of 1984 Inverness won the Mod Cup. In 1985 Tom stepped down as Chieftain of the Camanachd Association but was honoured with the position of Freeman of Inverness for his services to the local Community. In 1987 the Inverness Shinty Club celebrated its Centenary. On Saturday 15 August 1987 a veteran's challenge match between Inverness and Glenurquhart was played followed by one between Inverness and Oban Camanachd and a dinner was held in the Rannoch Lodge Hotel that evening to mark the club's centenary. The senior team (featured right) was beaten 2-1 by Glenurquhart and the Veteran's team was heavily beaten by a much younger Oban side.
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