‘Michael would have been very proud’: Halkirk memorial match is a family affair
A memorial football match at Halkirk GalaFest culminated in a poignant moment after a team of under-14 boys from the village defeated their Thurso counterparts.
The annual match is in memory of Michael MacIntosh (known as Foxy), who died in October 2021.
This was the fourth time it had been run and it proved to be a family affair.
Michael’s nephew Zac Noble (13) was playing in the Halkirk team for the first time. And, after their 5-1 victory, Zac had the honour of collecting the cup from Michael’s daughter Erin MacIntosh.
Jane MacIntosh, Michael’s widow, said: “These last few years have been extremely challenging for me and my family, and to watch Zac play in his uncle’s memorial match was very touching.
“One of the last photos I have of Michael and Zac together is of them both kicking a football around the garden. Michael would have been very proud of the Halkirk team winning the match.”
Jane is secretary of Halkirk Village Council, which organises the GalaFest to help raise funds for the upkeep of the Ross Institute.
The football match kicked off the main GalaFest day, which included Thurso and District Pipe Band leading a parade of floats and foot walkers as everyone braved the rain.
There were Highland dancers, gymnastics, majorettes, Tang Soo Do, open mic sessions, tug of war and live music from Thurso-based Sand Stone.
In the preceding days there had been a bingo night at the Ross Institute and a duck and boat race at the river.
“We call it a GalaFest now because we’re trying to make it like a gala-cum-festival,” Jane explained.
“We’ve got open mic going on through the day, we’ve got a band at night – so it’s more of a modern take on the gala, really. I was quite amazed at how successful it was, given the weather.”
Jane pointed out: “It costs us about £17,000 a year to keep the Ross Institute running, so we have to fundraise. The bookings have been brilliant this last while.”
In 2022, a total of £5500 raised to honour the life of Michael MacIntosh was donated to Halkirk Junior FC.
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