Monday 1 December 2014

Soldiers are we

 
Soldiers are we
 
The Celtic supporters at Tynecastle on Sunday certainly enjoyed themselves as the team put in another decent domestic performance to defeat Hearts in what many thought would be a difficult cup tie. There was a bit of chat online about the singing of the hymn ‘Walk with me oh my Lord’ by the green clad fans and most thought it was harmless enough. One wonders if there are any other professional club’s supporters in the world who would sing a hymn at a match in these secular times but the choice of song was unusual rather than offensive. That hymn was of course sung at Tommy Burns’ funeral mass in 2008 and I recall joining thousands of waiting supporters gathered at Celtic Park that day listening to that service being broadcast via speakers. There was a spontaneous singing of it on that sombre occasion and it seemed somehow fitting as it was a tribute to a great Celt and also a comfort to some still stunned at his loss.

No one can doubt the Catholic roots of Celtic FC as the Club was basically started by the teaching arm of the Church and in its early list of patrons you will find clergymen and even an Archbishop. However as time has gone on and the original founding community has become more assimilated into the mainstream of Scottish life, the Celtic support is now more mixed than it has ever been. Yes, the majority are still Catholic, at least culturally, but a large minority of the fan base these days is of other faiths or none at all. Some of the most devoted Celtic supporters I know are not from the Catholic or Irish tradition but rather are drawn to the club by its footballing record and the warmth of the majority of its supporters. That doesn’t mean that we should dispense with singing songs such as ‘Walk with me oh my Lord’ quaint as it is to hear such things at a modern football game.

Similarly with the singing of the ‘Soldiers Song’ at Celtic games, it could be argued that there is a case for the club founded by Irish migrants to continue to sing this song but there is no case for singing the corrupted version which contains the line ‘God Bless the Pope. Those of you who study Irish history will recognise that one of the founding principles of the Republic as outlined in the 1916 proclamation is equality and freedom of religion. No Irish person would accept a national anthem corrupted in the manner it is at Celtic games. The declaration of 1916 states…

‘’The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and all of its parts, cherishing all of the children of the nation equally and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien government, which have divided a minority from the majority in the past.’’

The principle that all the people of Ireland were to treated as equals in the new Republic is clear in those words. If anyone seeks to do justice to those patriots they will get the song right and not sing words which are at odds with the principles the signatories had. They faced the firing squad in Kilmainham jail in defence of those principles and would shake their heads at the corruption of their anthem. If you must sing it then learn the actual words.

There were a huge variety of songs sung at Tynecastle on Sunday ranging from ‘Viva la Quinta Brigada’ to more familiar Celtic songs.  I have stated in the past my feelings about more overtly political songs at football games being inappropriate. This is no slur on the songs themselves but rather the time and place of their airing. I recall hearing ‘The Boys of the old Brigade’ being sung at Kilmarnock and wondering if the fans singing it had any idea that the Killie boss that day, Kenny Shiels, had lost a brother in the troubles?  Of course there will be people who feel that they have a right to sing what they want at football matches no matter who it might offend. It is worth remembering that those who sing the ‘Famine song’ and other such nonsense would argue the same point. Freedom of expression must always be tempered with responsibility and common sense.

Celtic’s identity can never be separated from its Irish and Catholic roots but that doesn’t mean that it is a club and indeed a support which is exclusive. We welcome all who want to follow the Celts with open arms regardless of creed, colour or nationality. The word ‘Catholic’ translates as ‘Universal’ or ‘all encompassing’ and that is the Celtic I want to support. Willie Maley once said of Celtic players… 'It is not his creed nor his nationality which counts -it's the man himself.'  That principle applies to our support too and we should all take that into account in our choice of songs at the game. I would hate to shout or sing any words at a Celtic game which made a fellow supporter uncomfortable. We have so many great Celtic songs so let’s boom them out and live up to our founding principles.

Our roots are undeniably Irish and Catholic but over the past 127 years we have blossomed into an institution open to all.

Our past is our home not our prison.
 

8 comments:

  1. Couldn't agree more. I personally would love to see more: Black, Asian, Protestant,...., and of course women at the games. HH

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  2. Great stance - keep up the good work!

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    1. Thank you Charlie, I appreciate you reading my ramblings HH

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  3. Our founding principles where to provide a club that could help Irish Catholics in Glasgow of the time, whom, starving and needy, turned to Protestant soup kitchens. They were fed on the basis that they joined the Church of Scotland.
    The founding members where Irish nationalists in their majority, indeed, Michael Davitt laid a turf of Irish shamrocks in the centre circle, he was an Irish republican. T.D Sullivan sang his unofficial Irish national anthem at Celtic Park 'God Save Ireland'.
    Also, you seem to accept the Catholic hymns more than the Irish republican songs, yet the same people who ran the club that invited 2 Irish republicans to Celtic, also voted out a board vote that the club should sign only Catholics.
    Indeed, in the 50's, we were told to take down the Irish tricolour from Celtic Parks roof by the sfa, Bob Kelly, chairmen said he would rather remove us from the league and play Gaelic games instead.
    You also refer to the Celtic fans rendition of 'The Soldiers Song' as bastardised. While i agree the 'God bless the Pope' line is not part of the anthem, surely the last lines are also wrong without it? Does that not bastardise it? "'in Erins cause come woe or weal. Mid cannons roar, and rifles peal" is surely correct. However, you wrongly quote the proclamation, a clear reference to a Catholic majority and protestant minority. Aside though, but in that vain, Pádraig Mac Piarais said 'The clear true eyes of this man almost alone in his day visioned Ireland as we of to-day would surely have her: not free merely, but Gaelic as well; not Gaelic merely, but free as well'. Should Amhrán na bhFiann not be the only version sung?

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    1. A few points Mr Plough, 'Walk with me oh my Lord' is a Christian hymn not specifically Catholic. I heard it recently at a funeral o a Protestant neighbour.Estelle White, who wrote it with many others, was born a Methodist and became a RC later in life. She was always delighted that all followers of Christ sang her hymns and would baulk at them being being limited to one denomination. Secondly the quote from the proclamation isn't wrong, it is accurate as you'd see if you read the copy of it in the post. The men of 1916 saw religious division fostered by the conqueror and realised that any future Irish Republic had to respect the rights and religious freedoms of all its children including the 25% who were not RC. We no longer live in 1888 or 1916, life has moved on and I find the most dogmatic people to be those who don't realise this. The whole point of the comments on the song have nothing to do with the language it is sung in but the inappropriate insertion of words which go against its spirit. Celtic, as I've said, were indeed Catholic in origins, how could it be otherwise for a club founded within the church but as Willie Maley points out in his book, they had a mixed team from the earliest seasons. Indeed the recent book 'Gathering Storm: The Celtic, the Glasgow Irish and the Great War' points out they attempted to sign their first Protestant player in September 1888. The club, unlike Hibernian with its YCMA and Temperance roots,, never intended to be exclusive and Walfrid's charity fed many unemployed and children without asking their faith. That is how it was and how it should always be. Open to all or not at all. HH

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  4. How do you feel about let the people sing and the fields of athenry being sung? I see your point on politics but we need to celebrate our identity and culture too. maybe songs like wild rover minus the add ons would be good or less heavy political songs like aiden mcanespie, sean south, god save Ireland and wearing of the green. We have a social history with songs and culture and that shouldn't be removed. Though it may evolve to suit the time. I personally see no issue with rebel songs as theyre part of the heritage of myself, the club and celtic fans. But that's an endless debate

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  5. Hi Liam, apologies for being slow to reply, Athenry and Let the people sing are fine in my book. They are songs which reflect the cultural roots of the support. The more Political songs divide opinion and offer those who hate us with a big stick to beat us. They love the 'Old Firm' as bad as each other tosh. I have no problems with Rebel songs but would rather they weren't sung at the games as we have a more mixed support now than ever. Recent books such as 'Gathering Storm' about Celtic and the Great War suggest most early Celts were 'Home Rulers' and not on the extreme Republican side at all. So much pain was caused by all sides in the troubles, do we really need to echo those days still at a Scottish sporting event. Sport is surely about uniting people?

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