Alba is a shinty

Shinty

Shinty is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread, being once competitively played on a widespread basis in England and other areas in the...

 team selected to represent Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and Scots Gaelic which plays annually in a composite rules

Composite rules shinty-hurling

Composite rules shinty-hurling , sometimes known simply as shinty-hurling) is a hybrid sport which was developed to facilitate international matches between shinty players and hurling players....

 international series with Míchael Breathnach CLG who represent the Irish Language

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

. The prerequisite for playing in this team is that a player can speak Scots Gaelic.http://www.shinty.com/news/sgioba-gaidhlig-a%e2%80%99-tilleadh-a-ghaillimh-airson-iomain-cholmcille-4/

History

Gaelic was the traditional language of shinty, hence its Gaelic names camanachd and iomain. Many of the rules of the game were originally written in Gaelic but due to the decline of the Gaelic language, there are now few areas where Gaelic and shinty are both strong outwith the Isle of Skye. However, the recent resurgence of the language in urban areas as well as the re-establishment of shinty in areas such as Ardnamurchan

Ardnamurchan

Ardnamurchan is a peninsula in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, noted for being very unspoilt and undisturbed. Its remoteness is accentuated by the main access route being a single track road for much of its length.-Geography:...

 and the Western Isles has seen a broadening of the availability of Gaelic speaking players.

The first fixture was played as part of the Feill Chaluim Chille festival in Mull

Mull

-Places:*Isle of Mull, Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides*Sound of Mull, between the island and the rest of Scotland*Mull , Anglicisation of Gaelic Maol, hill or promontory**Mull of Galloway, Scotland**Mull of Kintyre, Scotland...

 and Oban

Oban

Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...

 in 2007. It is now played on a regular basis as part of Iomain Cholmcille which receives support from Colmcille.http://www.colmcille.net/About%20us/iomain-cholmcille.htm The aim of the fesitval is to encourage the use of Gaelic and Irish in a sporting context.

Alba lost the first two fixtures in the series but had a resounding win in February 2010 (this actually the 2009 fixture held over) against the Irish in Portree

Portree

Portree is the largest town on Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. It is the location for the only secondary school on the Island, Portree High school. Public transport services are limited to buses....

 at the ground of Skye Camanachd

Skye Camanachd

Skye Camanachd is a shinty team from the Isle of Skye, Highland, Scotland. It plays in North Division One and has a reserve team in North Division Two. The club is based at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree.-Early history:...

.

The October 2010 wasw a close affair in Galway which the Irish won 15-13.