JOHN MacRAE, the kenspeckle harbourmaster at Kyle of Lochalsh who was equally well-known in the world of shinty as both player and later official, has died aged 50.

As soon as it became known the genuine sadness evoked by his passing was immediately apparent in the outpouring of affection and appreciation expressed in the contributions to the shinty. com website. Universally known as Johnnie Ach, due to his roots in Achmore, his contribution to the sport he loved would be difficult to overestimate.

The embodiment of Highland grace, wit and charm, the charismatic MacRae was more than a legend. As the pivotal figure marshalling seagoing activities through the historic waters of the Kyle of Lochalsh, he displayed at once the strength, agility and athleticism of the Celtic warrior Cu Chulainn and the determination, passion and loyalty of King Haakon's marauding troops.

The same man was the gentlest and kindest of figures; a man whose sense of community and empathy with the environment that shaped him, and the culture that drove him, made him stand out in a crowd. A man whose talents as a bon viveur have marked him out as one of Celtic sport's Special Ones, from his roots in Achmore to the green swards of Ireland.

John's contribution to his community, through activities with the Kyle lifeboat, the Eilean Ban Trust and the local community council, to name but three, will forever leave his mark on the area and its activities. However, it is through his contribution to shinty that many will most fondly remember him.

A former North Player of the Year (the list of players he headed that year making his achievement all the more outstanding), he had a distinguished 20-year playing career with his beloved Kinlochshiel at Balmacara. Later, as a referee, he brought an idiosyncratic but dynamic and courageous style of whistling (which included coaching young players while officiating). He was the game's perfect role model.

A captain of a winning Sutherland Cup team, just about the only thing he didn't achieve was a place in a Camanachd Cup final side. He did, however, officiate as a referee at all of the sport's greatest occasions, taking charge of the senior international match with Ireland last autumn. Latterly, he had assumed a directorship with the Camanachd Association, the game's governing body, in charge of determining and developing referees, a task he approached with the same dynamism and whole-heartedness, which marked him out among his peers.

The widespread sense of disbelief at his passing, robbing his community of one of its favourite sons, is in every sense a tragedy. John MacRae was not without his flaws, which he himself recognised. The biggest, arguably and certainly worthy of forgiving, was that he could not leave alone anything that needed doing. And that meant anything. Kindness personified, few passed through Kyle without the addition of a selection of the best clams for supper; his arrival at shinty matches with bags of fresh fish in the boot of the car not unknown to this writer, among others. He was one of the best ambassadors shinty had in the media, himself dabbling in the Fourth Estate, while at the same time extolling the virtues of his own contribution to the event or match in which he was participating or officiating. He could get away with it where others could not.

He allegedly attached his own persona to a well-known shinty tale in his home area. Once summoned to the office of the headmaster in Plockton to be admonished for breaking a school windowwhile playing shinty at the interval, MacRae claimed he was the proudest teenager on the west coast to be hailed by the dominie, the great Sorley Maclean, for the prodigious nature of his hitting and the quality of his play. This was, one suspects, no apocryphal tale. In truth, the "villain" of the piece was not Johnnie, but it could have been.

Few have wielded the caman with the energy and panache of this MacRae. Even fewer have lived life to the extent he did, and contributed so much. His passing does not diminish his contribution, but the unfulfilled potential leaves us the poorer. His contribution to the west coast and its fishermen was legendary. He had worked at the naval base in Kyle before carving out his career, notably in the management of Kyle Harbour for more than 15 years.

That he died days short of his 51st birthday as he helped prepare celebrate the first 50 years of his beloved Kinlochshiel is one of the great but now unimportant ironies of this tragedy. His loss will be felt most keenly by his immediate family of Alison and their five daughters and the three grandchildren, and his three brothers and three sisters.

We are all privileged to have known him, worked with him, played with and against him and above all shared so many happy times. Treasuring all the great memories of Johnnie Ach will help us all cope.

John MacRae, harbourmaster and director of Camanachd Association; born February 4, 1955, died January 25, 2006.