McDonald, from Dumfries, had been tied with Helensburgh's Neil Elliot going into the contest's final event, watched by another bumper crowd at the stadium venue in Rothesay's High Street.

Elliot looked a good bet for the title after a best throw of 'two minutes past twelve' in the caber, only to be thwarted when McDonald recorded a perfect throw to capture the coveted Duke of Rothesay's Trophy for the second year running.

While the heavy events may have attracted the loudest cheers of the day, the biggest sighs of relief came from the Games' organisers, who saw the biggest one-day event in the island's calendar take place almost entirely in gratifyingly dry weather, after the Diamond Jubilee washout 12 months before.

The Games were officially opened by the 2008 chieftain, the Marquess of Bute, at 12 o'clock sharp, with chairman Isobel Strong and members of the Strong and Bute families watching on, though by then the events of the Games themselves had already been under way for two hours, in the shape of the junior shinty tournament - eventually won by Kyles Athletic - and the increasingly popular Highland dancing contests, which are now the first attraction to begin and almost the last to finish, and which this year saw another clutch of fine performances by Bute-based entrants.

Rothesay dancers Marcela McMillan, Tia Nicholson, Danniella Wokes and Kirsty Barrett all tasted victory in the 'confined' section, for dancers from Argyll and Bute, while the open section honours went to dancers from as far afield as Grangemouth, Forfar, Canada and New Zealand.

The junior athletics events saw several creditable performances from local competitors and strong challenges from mainland teams, most notably Greenock Glenpark Harriers and Kilbarchan AAC, while the day's 10K road race attracted a remarkable field of 140 runners, including the faithful Tommy Armstrong from Greenock, who has raised more than £90,000 for leukaemia research by competing, in his clown costume, in a host of long-distance road races down the years and shows no sign of slowing down.

The day's wrestling contests saw plenty of close grappling action for the crowd to enjoy, with four British championships and one Scottish title up for grabs, while the day's pipe band competitions were also very closely contested, with Mauchline and District Caledonia carrying off the grade one piping and drumming prizes.

Some of the loudest cheers of the day, though, were reserved for the drum major competition - and for once the local hero in the field, Campbell Gillies of Rothesay and District Pipe Band, had a rival for the crowd's affections in the shape of tiny Kelsey Meechan of Dumbarton and District, who was only just taller than her mace and whose efforts should ensure a future as bright as her bandmate Iona Burns, competing in Rothesay just a week after lifting the world champion juvenile drum major's title in Glasgow.

The rain did come eventually, casting something of a wet blanket over the gathering of the massed pipe bands and the presentation of the Highland dancing and piping and drumming prizes, but the cheers from spectators as the bands and their supporters marched from the stadium back into town at the traditional conclusion of the event were as enthusiastic as ever.