The Green Thread
There were some interesting online debates this
week about the place of politics in football. This was of course stimulated by
the incidents which took place when Lazio came calling in the Europa League.
Their supporters marched through Glasgow engaging in fascist salutes to rather
bemused workers on their way home. At the stadium they were met songs and
banners which left them in no doubt what Celtic supporters thought of their
particular brand of fascism and racism.
There is no doubt that Celtic’s unique history is
one of the factors which makes a large element among their supporters among the
most politically aware in football. The community which gave birth to Celtic
was in the main, though not exclusively, Irish and Catholic in its make-up and
in the early years of the club’s existence there was huge involvement in Irish
politics by leading figures at Celtic. It’s not unusual for the first
generations of migrant communities to be interested in events back ‘home’ but
as time moved on and the Irish became more assimilated in Scottish society
their political horizons widened. Of course the songs heard at Celtic games
still echo the Irish strand of the club’s identity and probably always will.
Celtic’s identity raised and still raises the
hackles of some in Scotland who find any manifestation of Irishness or
Catholicism offensive. Few countries in Europe adopted the reformed faith as
completely as Scotland did and Catholicism was all but banished from the land,
hanging on only in a few Highland and island communities. The influx of tens of
thousands of Irish fleeing the horrors of the great hunger caused alarm in some
quarters. The vast majority of them would find themselves in the poorest parts
of Scotland’s towns and cities struggling to get by but at least there was work
for some and a chance to feed their families. Scotland’s dormant anti-Catholicism
was revived in a vociferous minority by the sight of these new arrivals and the
faith many brought with them.
One of the most visual symbols of that community
was the football club they founded to help feed the poor and its meteoric rise
to prominence was a source of irritation to many. Some early sporting
newspapers yearned for a ‘good Scotch team’ to put the Irishmen in
their place. Much of the discourse in the 19th and early 20th century
was by the standards of today, racist in its overtones and stereotypes of the
‘feckless and drunken’ Irish abounded. They were less enlightened times
although there is little excuse for much of the vitriol which was aimed at
Celtic and the community which created and sustained it.
Celtic may have been a symbol of pride to the
impoverished and often despised Irish community but it was also an important
vehicle in the assimilation of the Irish-Scots. Through education, sport,
commerce and old fashioned hard work the Irish in Scotland have rightly taken
their place in every strata of Scottish society. The national tartan now has a
discernible green thread.
One event which demonstrated the road Scotland’s
Catholic community had travelled was the visit of Pope John Paul to Glasgow in
the summer of 1982. Scotland’s 800,000 Catholics come from a variety of places
and if the Irish formed the bulk then the native Scots, Poles, Ukrainians,
Lithuanians, Italians and many others were proud parts of that community too.
Today all of them would describe themselves as Scots, proud of their heritage
but also proud of their native land too.
The spring of 1982 was in some ways a tense time.
The announcement of Pope John Paul’s visit brought out the best in some and the
worst in others. For the extreme Protestants like Pastor Jack Glass it was a
chance to stir up old animosities but in truth most Scots of all faiths and
none found his ranting to be a little embarrassing and he looked increasingly
like a man born in the wrong century. There were protests of course and we were
treated to the bizarre spectacle of those opposed to the Papal visit chaining
themselves to trees in Bellahouston Park which were to be temporarily removed
to allow the expected 300,000 crowd a clear view of events when the Pope arrived.
Civic Scotland though was determined that the country wouldn’t be shown up as a
backward and bigoted place on the world’s tv screens and the Police dealt
robustly with any who went too far. The war between Britain and Argentina over
the Falkland Islands threatened to scupper the trip but John Paul arranged to
visit Argentina too and all was set for what was to be a remarkable day.
I recall as a skinny lad walking along Paisley Road
West towards the park in a great tide of humanity. The sun was shining and
there was a feeling of real history being made. Such a visit would not have
been possible even just 20 or 30 years previously and for many people it was
like a dream come true. Older people in particular were astonished that they
were actually going to see the Pope in Glasgow and some were moved to tears. As
we walked past certain bars on the journey to Bellahouston there were some less
than happy faces hanging around the doorways. One man spat at some nuns and was
pounced upon by plain clothes Police officers. Another shouted ‘fuck yer
Pope’ and was greeted with smiles and pitying looks. Those incidents
were rare though and most people wore smiles on that warm June day.
Bellahouston Park was laid out beautifully and the
vaulted blue skies added to what was an amazing scene. Perhaps the largest
gathering of people ever seen in Scotland filled the park. When the Pope began
to speak he recognised the journey Scotland’s Catholic community had been on
and said….
‘We are gathered here on this
Scottish hillside to celebrate Mass. Are we not like those first disciples and
followers who sat at the feet of Jesus on the hillside near Capernaum? What did
Jesus teach them? What does our divine Master wish to teach us, each and every
one of us, today? Dear beloved Catholics of Scotland, the
prayers of your forefathers did not go unanswered! Their firm hope in
divine providence was not disillusioned! A century and a half ago the tide
of repression turned. The small Catholic community gradually gained new
vitality. The advent of numerous Catholic emigrants from nearby Ireland,
accompanied by zealous Irish priests, enlarged and enriched it spiritually.
What was a dream a century ago has become the reality of today. A complete
transformation of Catholic life has come about in Scotland, with the Catholics
of Scotland assuming their legitimate role in every sector of public life and
some of them invested with the most important and prestigious offices of this
land.’
The Pope’s sermon was a call for Christian values
to be present in the daily lives of believers and he spoke to the wider
Scottish community with the following words…
‘Before concluding, I wish to
address for a few moments that larger community of believers in Christ, who
share with my Catholic brothers and sisters the privilege of being Scots, sons
and daughters alike of this ancient nation. I know of the veneration in which
you hold the Sacred Scriptures, accepting them for what they are, the word of
God, and not of man. I have reserved until now and should like to read to you
the remaining words from that passage of Saint Paul’s letter to the Ephesians:
“There is one body, one Spirit, just as you were all called. There is one Lord,
one Faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all
and within all”
John Paul’s assertion that all Christians have far
more in common than dividing them was a telling one and it was noted at the
time that the Moderator of the Church of Scotland met him under the statue of
John Knox in Edinburgh and addressed his as ‘Our brother in Christ.’ The
strident voices of anti-Catholicism were on the wane and despite being given
amplification beyond their importance on modern social media continue to wane.
Just as Celtic supporters are proud of the Irish
and Catholic roots of the club, and indeed of many of their families, there can
be and should never be any exclusivity around Celtic. This is a club for all
and it should remain so. Some of the greatest players and greatest supporters
of Celtic I’ve had the privilege to watch or meet have been neither of Irish or
Catholic extraction. Long may that continue. I would echo the words of Bob
Kelly who was asked by a supporter at an AGM long ago if the club should limit
the number of non-Catholic players in the side. He replied….
‘It has been the founding Fathers’
doctrine and Club policy that Celtic fields the best possible team regardless
of denomination. Non-Catholic’s had throughout the club’s history played their
hearts out for Celtic and the policy of the founding Fathers’ would continue!
With the new school of youngsters there is no doubt that Catholic youth will
show up well and have every opportunity to show its worth but the principle (of
a mixed team) will remain the same as always.’
Kelly’s words were greeted by a
storm of applause from those in attendance. That is the Celtic spirit; that is
the Celtic way. All you need to follow this club is a love of the green. Others
have gone down the exclusivist route in the past and its poison lingers yet. To
paraphrase John Paul’s sermon of 1982…
There is one club, one support,
one people marching forward with hope in their hearts. Amen to that.
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