The Gift of Celtic

Today’s article is on a subject very close to my heart and I suspect many of you will feel the same. I have always written about the unique founding traditions of Celtic Football Club and that tradition is as alive today as it was when Brother Walfrid founded his club ‘To maintain dinner tables for the children and unemployed.’ Since November 1887, through to this day Celtic folk the world over have sought to maintain the charitable ethos of the club and extend it well beyond these shores. We no longer just seek to help the poor in our midst, although they are still here and in need of our support. From Africa to Thailand, from Belfast to Bolivia, the Celtic family has dug deep to keep alive the spirit of Brother Walfrid. I ask your help today to help maintain that spirit.

I have been very blessed that so many of my fellow Celtic fans have read and for the most part, enjoyed my articles and stories. From ‘Paddy’s Ashes’ and the ‘Celtic Spirit’ to ‘Does he take Sugar’ and ‘the Gift of Celtic’ the feedback was always very positive and inspiring. We’ve laughed, occasionally argued, shared our memories and of course confirmed that the club we all love is deeply embedded in all our hearts. Recently a couple of good Twitter Tims said we should publish a book with the best of the articles brought together in one place. We have worked away for the past few months to make it happen and I’ve also written a few new stories for the book which you’ll find nowhere else. The book is a 142 page homage to Celtic FC and the club’s incredible supporters. It represents our stories and our songs, our triumphs and our tragedies. From John Thompson to Lisbon, from Jimmy McGrory to Henrik Larsson and Seville, it weaves the legends and glory of Glasgow Celtic into a wonderful and very readable book. It also recognises that Celtic would not have been born nor would the club have thrived without their wonderful supporters. So this is also our story too, in a very real way we are all Celtic.

Of course, being true children of Walfrid, every penny we raise from sales of the book will be going to charity. We chose the Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS) to benefit from any money we raise. The links below will explain the wonderful work CHAS does in providing the only existing hospice service in Scotland to children and young people with life shortening conditions. It also provides a tremendous service for their families and it is absolutely fitting that the Celtic family support this vital and worthy work.

Should you wish to buy a copy of the book or indeed an e-book simply click the link below and register. Cost is expected to be around £5 and every penny made will go to CHAS. It would make a great Christmas stocking filler for any Celt and it comes with the added bonus that buying it is helping to continue the charitable work our great club was founded to do. I’ll be buying a good few for family, friends and workmates and I ask you to do the same. We are still Walfrid’s children and there are few better causes to support than the Children’s Hospice Association Scotland.

Thank you very much. I know the good men and women who follow this remarkable football club of ours will support this very worthy cause.

Hail Hail. Tirnaog

 To register for a copy of the book please visit...  http://thegiftofceltic.com/

To see the great work CHAS does please visit...   http://www.chas.org.uk/

 

 

A Matter of Respect

A Matter of Respect

For a couple of years now we have watched tasteless and jingoistic displays of ‘Britishness’ going on under the guise of ‘Armed Forces day’ or ‘Remembrance’ events at Ibrox stadium. The hijacking of these events by the loyalist fringe has taken place under the noses of the watching media and senior military personnel. This tacky exhibition reached a crescendo recently when we were treated to the disgraceful sight of uniformed soldiers singing along enthusiastically with blatantly sectarian songs. All of this has hardened the opinion of some who follow Celtic that they want nothing to do with the upcoming Poppy day and remembrance ceremonies. That is a right they chose to exercise and I understand why they feel that way. Similarly I can fully understand why Irish people may have similar feelings, given the behaviour of the British army in their country over the centuries. Today I ask simply that whatever you choose to do during remembrance week, you do so recognising the right of others to follow their own conscience. It is a matter of respect.

A while back I wrote an article about the display at a Celtic v Aberdeen match urging the club not to put a poppy onto our team’s shirts.  The main point I made was that wearing a poppy in no way demonstrates support for the UK’s current military adventures or its bloody imperialist past. Rather, it recognises the charitable choice made by an individual to support former military personnel of all creeds and ethnicities who often had no choice but to serve in the forces. We are a pretty intermingled group of nations on these islands and loyalties are often mixed and boundaries blurred by the sheer complexity of our history.  Never forget the Celtic players and supporters who served in a variety of conflicts and often made the supreme sacrifice. It is also right that we also remember the victims of British armed forces, be they Indian, Kenyan, Iraqis, Afghanis or Irish. Remembrance Day is about recalling them too.

I invite you to read the article I wrote a year back and ask you to respect the choices made by your fellow fans this November whether they choose to wear a poppy or not. The right to make an informed choice is available to us all and that is only right.

 

Poppy Protests and the bigger picture…

In the early years of the 20^th Century the demands for home rule in Ireland intensified. In the North of Ireland the Ulster Volunteers were formed to resist this movement, violently if necessary. In response to this the nationalist Irish Volunteers began to recruit, train and arm themselves. The possibility of Civil war in Ireland was high. In August 1914 World War one began and the British Government promoted it as a fight for ‘The Freedom of small nations’ the majority of the Irish Volunteers, under John Redmond, decided to fight on the allied side. They did this on the understanding that Home Rule would be granted after the war.  So it was that the Irish 16^th & 10^th Irish Divisions joined the 36^th Ulster Division on the Western front. At the Somme in 1916 they were slaughtered in huge numbers. Indeed the war memorial at the Island of Ireland Peace Park in Flanders states their casualties as follows: 10th (Irish) Division - 9,363 casualties, 16th (Irish) Division - 28,398 casualties and 36th (Ulster) Division - 32,186 casualties.  That’s almost 70,000 Irishmen of all faiths killed or maimed.  Of course the Easter Rising took place that same year and the brutal British suppression of it caused great consternation among Irish soldiers serving in France, India and many other places and led, eventually to full blown rebellion.

 Selling Poppies to raise funds to support wounded service personnel and the widows and children of those lost began in 1921. It was inspired by John McCrea’s poem which began: ‘In Flanders Fields the Poppy’s blow, between the crosses row on row.’  At least seven former Celtic players died in the conflict including the excellent Peter Johnston, star of the six in a row team. Willie Maley, a former soldier himself, is said to have cried upon hearing the news of his death. Countless supporters of the club were maimed and killed in the war too. Others achieved distinction for acts of heroism up to and including winning the Victoria Cross. In World War 2 as Britain fought Fascism, 43,000 ‘Free State’ Irishmen fought for the UK as did hundreds of thousands of Irish and their descendants in Britain. This continued to be the case in every conflict Britain has rightly or wrongly become involved in. The poppy was the symbol of remembrance for all who suffered and died in these wars. It was, as far as these things can be, a non-political gesture by people choosing to show their gratitude for the sacrifices made.  It raised few gripes for decades and I would wear a poppy to Celtic park with no comment being made about it at all.

That changed at an Aberdeen game at Celtic Park in November 2010. The much publicised banner display that day read: ‘Your Deeds Would Shame All the Devils in Hell – Afghanistan, Iraq, Ireland – No Blood Stained Poppy on our Hoops’   I am not for a moment defending the UK’s record in the countries mentioned. I know enough about history to know the sins of British Imperialism but in my opinion, this display targeted the wrong symbol. Wearing the Poppy demonstrates an awareness of the suffering of all involved in war, it is not a recognition that we agree with any war. It represents and commemorates all faiths and ethnicities, all social classes and political persuasions. My own Grandfather, a native of County Clare in Ireland, was injured by shell fire in World War 1 fighting on the Western front as part of Redmond’s Irish Volunteers. He was invalided out of the Army and put his military training to use in the war of Irish Independence fighting against the Army he once belonged to. He knew the suffering endured by all the men who slogged it out on the killing fields of France. He also saw the brutality of the British and their cohorts in Ireland but he wore his poppy every year to remember his lost comrades.

I’m not arguing that Celtic fans should wear a poppy. That is rightly an individual’s choice. What I am asking for is respect for those of us who do choose to wear one and of course for those who choose not to. That does not make us any less committed to Celtic or less proud of the club’s Irish heritage. Nor does it signify that we agree with any of the conflicts the UK has been involved in. On the contrary it will help us recall with pride and respect the countless Celtic men who gave their lives in wars throughout the Club’s 125 years of existence.  You may disagree with every word I’ve written here and that is your right but I ask you all to accept that every person has the fundamental right to choose how to commemorate the lost souls of war.

 Celtic fans were vilified in the national press for the banner display of 2010 and people the length of the UK associated Celtic FC with militant Republicanism and disrespect for the memory of the war dead. That was unfair because the supporters who organized the banner display are part of the Celtic Family, not its entirety. They do not speak for us all. Perhaps the most important words of this blog are to be found on the memorial at the Island of Ireland Peace Park in Flanders. An Irish round tower made from the stones of a demolished workhouse in County Westmeath, commemorates the Irish dead of the Great War. On stone plaques beneath the tower are inscribed the following words…

‘’As Protestants and Catholics, we apologise for the terrible deeds we have done to each other and ask forgiveness. From this sacred shrine of remembrance, where soldiers of all nationalities, creeds and political allegiances were united in death, we appeal to all people in Ireland to help build a peaceful and tolerant society. Let us remember the solidarity and trust that developed between Protestant and Catholic Soldiers when they served together in these trenches. As we jointly thank the armistice of 11 November 1918 – when the guns fell silent along this western front - we affirm that a fitting tribute to the principles for which men and women from the Island of Ireland died in both World Wars would be permanent peace.”

That is the message I take from the sufferings of all sides in wars. That message goes to the heart of the Celtic philosophy and is why the club chose to play players of all faiths and none when other clubs were openly sectarian. It is why I hope all are welcome in the Celtic family irrespective of their political views, religious philosophy or ethnicity. We are a diverse bunch we Celtic fans but that is not a weakness, it is our greatest strength. 

 

 

 

 

 

Hidden Agenda

 

My mind can sometimes wander off the beaten path when I write so bear with me today…

 

In Brian P Murphy’s interesting and informative book ‘The Origins and Organisation of British Propaganda in Ireland 1920’  he exposes the dark goings on at the heart of the British effort to defeat the IRA led insurgency. The use of lies, torture, disinformation and a host of other ‘black-ops’ techniques will surprise few students of Irish-British history. What is surprising though is how a compliant press and many mainstream historians are still allowing views contaminated and warped by propaganda to pass as serious history. Murphy puts this down to many having ‘ideological filters’ and leanings towards the British objectives. They could never admit that the objectives of the rising, the foundation of an Irish Republic, were supported by 75% of the population as shown in the 1918 election results. It had to be portrayed as assassins and unreasonable bigots bent on some huge criminal enterprise. A similar approach was used in the more recent conflict in the north when the Army’s ‘Psy-ops’ unit beavered away to discredit, blacken and undermine those they saw as the enemy. The public were led to believe that their sons were merely keeping two warring tribes apart and not, as was the case, actively taking sides.  Gerry Adams commented that photographs of bruised, beaten and humiliated prisoners in Iraq made to pose with smiling soldiers brought back painful memories of his treatment in the early 1970s. None of this reached the press of the time though and they continued to push the party line. Such is the way of propaganda. Today, a new player has entered the game and it makes propaganda a more challenging and confusing art to succeed at. It is of course the internet.  

 

From Wikileaks to Charlotte fakes the game has changed. If knowledge is power them the democratising aspect of the internet has spread a little of that power to the masses kept in the dark and treated like children by the governing elites. The mask slips now and then and we are given a glimpse of how the machine actually works. Vested interests, secret meetings, hidden agreements are the order of the day. It reads like a cold war novel but it’s actually the tale of Scottish Football over the last few years and many are heartily sick of it. The establishment club, Titanic like, had steamed towards the iceberg of debt and been fatally holed. Even as it sunk and the players jumped ship, the propaganda war began. ‘Too big to fail’ we were told. ‘Death of Scottish football’ they said. ‘Armageddon and civil unrest’ they screamed. Of course, all of this was patent nonsense peddled by the laptop loyal. A good example of how it all works was demonstrated in a leaked email from Ibrox PR department which stated; ‘Spoke to Daryl, he’ll fight Rangers corner on SSB tonight.’ Is that how our radio sports shows work, people doing a PR job disguised as impartial journalists? Then, when the dinosaur of Edmiston Drive finally died, we were treated to the tawdry attempts to shoe horn the new club into the SPL. However, when the peasants from Aberdeen to Annan rightly revolted at that unfair prospect the sporting authorities went for a first division slot. Again the Spartacists’ rose up, using the power of the new technologies to coordinate their arguments for decency, fairness and sporting integrity. Again the powers that be wilted before admitting the new club to the fourth tier of Scottish football. Can you imagine the scenario if the calamity which destroyed Rangers had happened to Celtic? I can.  

 

We have seen since then the lie that the club didn’t actually die peddled almost daily in the media. We have seen the incredible decision of the Nimmo-Smith Report find that millions of pounds paid to players of the old club in undisclosed EBT’s did not give them an unfair sporting advantage. Of course the good Judge is a man of integrity who can only make adjudications on the evidence provided to him. They key witness here being the SFA contracts manager who astonishingly told him there were no improperly registered players representing Rangers in the EBT years. Fining the dead club for the breach of the rules was a bit like fining the Romans for destroying Carthage. That no titles were expunged from the record remains a stain on Scottish Sporting integrity.

 

We now see the unedifying sight of the new club clawing its way up the leagues and its support feasting on empty victories against part timers and tales of how they were poorly treated by the rest of Scottish football. The collapse of the old club in debt ridden shame was, apparently, all caused by those who hate Rangers. This revisionism has filled the less intelligent sector of their fan base with a twisted and vengeful self-righteousness which will no doubt lead to problems when they once again appear in the top flight like a drunken gate-crasher at a wedding. For the time being we watch them wander around the lower leagues like a heavyweight boxer in a Primary school playground boasting he’s the best fighter in the school. They have learned nothing from their disgrace, if anything they are more arrogant than before.

 

What then has been Celtic’s role in all of this? I read with interest a letter to Peter Lawwell from a lifelong Celtic fan, Alzipratu, who returned the Celtic scarf he has worn to games since the 1970s.  Alzipratu argued that Celtic had been far too inactive over the whole Rangers debacle and that the corruption of Scottish football by the governing bodies and its tacit support from sections of a compliant media meant he could no longer pay to watch our national game. It was a powerful restating of opinions many in Scottish football hold about the tawdry going on over the past 2 years. We’ve watched with growing unease the re-writing of history to suit the agenda that Rangers never died. Alizipratu says sadly at the end of his eloquent letter…

 

‘As of today, I give up on Celtic because I will not participate in this sham.  I have better things to spend my time, emotions and money on.  I will not purchase any merchandise.  I will not renew my season ticket.  I will not attend any games.  I will not encourage my children to watch or support Celtic.  It breaks my heart but the bond is broken.’

 

Whether you agree with his decision to quit the ‘sham’ of Scottish football or not, it is worth reading his letter in full and seeing his utter disdain for what has gone on in our national sport in the last few years. He is not alone in his disgust at the way the whole Rangers debacle has been handled. For many it confirmed their view that our national game is riven with bias and even corruption. Celtic fans are called paranoid when they raise issues such as poor refereeing or the George Cadete affair, when it took the SFA 6 weeks to send a fax. This time there is a consensus among most fans in Scottish football that the whole Rangers fiasco was dreadfully handled by the authorities and made our game a laughing stock. I won’t be abandoning football because Celtic means more to me than the whole rotten gang running our game. However, I foresee troubled times ahead for the game and the blame for that lies squarely with the apologists who bent over backwards to accommodate the new club.

 

 http://alzipratu.wordpress.com/2013/10/11/breaking-the-family-bond/

 

 

 

The Power of a Song…

Those of you who know the story of Victor Jara will know that the Chilean Folk Singer did what he thought was right for his country and the impoverished and oppressed majority within it. His weapon of choice was his guitar and the songs of freedom which helped sweep the Socialist government of Salvador Allende into power in 1970. Of course the Military and their puppet masters in the CIA organised a coup which saw Allende dead and thousands of left wing intellectuals and activists rounded up and imprisoned in the national football stadium in Santiago. The military junta, as is the way of such fascist and reactionary regimes, left a trail of torture and death in their wake as they ‘cleansed’ Chile. Jara was sent to the stadium with the thousands of others in September 1973 and few, if any of them, saw their families again. The soldiers, knowing Jara was a folk singer wanted to make an example of him and used an axe on his hands in front of hundreds of other prisoners. Witnesses said they laughed and said ‘sing for us now, Victor’ to him as he lay on the turf. To their astonishment, despite his horrendous injuries, Jara stood up and said, "All right comrades, let's do the señor commandante a favor!" and began to sing the ‘Unidad’ a left wing song. The eyewitness recalled that Jara was then machine gunned before the military turned their guns on the other prisoners. Victor Jara’s body had 44 bullet wounds when his English wife identified it at the morgue. Five years later, the SFA thought it appropriate to play Chile in a friendly match in that same stadium.

Forgive the rather heavy content of that first paragraph but it illustrates that some people see songs as dangerous things. Victor Jara weapons of choice were his guitar and his songs. U2 remembered him on their Joshua Tree Album when they wrote in the song ‘One Tree Hill’…

"And in the world a heart of darkness, a fire zone. Where poets speak their heart, then bleed for it. Jara sang, his song a weapon, in the hands of love. Though his blood still cries from the ground."

And so we come to another song in another time and place which some seem to find offensive. Police kick in doors and drag young men off for daring to air it in public. This isn’t 1970s Chile or some other despotic dictatorship, this goes on in 2013 Scotland. The song in question is of course ‘Roll of Honour’ which remembers the 10 Irish Hunger Strikers who died in 1981. It is sung by a small minority of Celtic supporters, mostly at away games and has been the focus of much discussion among the Celtic support. Anyone who reads my blogs will know I don’t think a football stadium is the place for the expression of political sentiments of any kind. I make no value judgment about such songs. I merely question the damage they do to Celtic and our support’s reputation. It is worth printing the lyric of the song here so anyone not familiar with it can judge if they find it offensive or not for themselves…

‘Read the roll of honour for Ireland’s bravest men
We must be united in memory of the ten,

England you’re a monster, don’t think that you have won
We will never be defeated while Ireland has such sons.

In those dreary H-Block cages ten brave young Irishmen lay
Hungering for justice as their young lives ebbed away,
For their rights as Irish soldiers and to free their native land
They stood beside their leader – the gallant Bobby Sands.
Now they mourn Hughes in Bellaghy,
Ray McCreesh in Armagh’s hills

In those narrow streets of Derry they miss O’Hara still,
They so proudly gave their young lives to break Britannia’s hold
Their names will be remembered as history unfolds.

Through the war torn streets of Ulster the black flags did sadly sway
To salute ten Irish martyrs the bravest of the brave,
Joe McDonnell, Martin Hurson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty
They gave their lives for freedom with Thomas McElwee.
Michael Devine from Derry you were the last to die

With your nine brave companions with the martyred dead you lie
Your souls cry out “Remember, our deaths were not in vain.
Fight on and make our homeland a nation once again !”

In terms of content it is a straight forward homage to the courage of Republican prisoners during the troubles, who paid the ultimate price for their beliefs. The ‘Threatening Behaviour at Football and Offensive Communications Act (Scotland) 2012’ deems that in some circumstances such songs may breach the law. Was there ever such a big hammer used to crack such a small nut? A dedicated Police Unit raiding homes, people banned from football with no explanation, young men criminalised for what exactly? Holding political views those in power disagree with?

 Most of us in our naivety thought the new Act would target the hate crimes we lived with for decades and which went unpunished. Namely the foul anti-Catholic rhetoric and anti-Irish racism spouted by a sizable minority of Rangers supporters over the years. It is with some astonishment we watch much of that continue at Newco games with impunity while a small group of Celtic supporters are harassed for political songs! Let’s be clear about it, the above song is not sectarian though some of the unionist persuasion will no doubt dislike it. Personally I would rather it was not sung at Celtic matches but I respect the right of others to disagree with me. Our society’s arguments should be measured on such subjects and based on respect and education not on intolerance and criminalisation. What place is there in a so called democracy for this criminalisation of political opinion? Would they dare do this to any other faction in our society? Not even Nick Griffin and his deplorable fascist party have to deal with such harassment.

 I am a moderate man but even I feel this Law is un-needed and unjust. The tax payers of this country are funding our police and legal system to crack down on political opinion the ruling politicos disagree with. This isn’t about hooliganism as Celtic fans have no real problem in that area. It’s about the labelling of any expression of Irishness as sectarian and offensive. Let’s be clear that those of a unionist or even loyalist opinion are equally entitled to their political beliefs and songs. Where some over-step the bounds of decency and indulge in sectarianism or racism, the existing laws were more than ample to deal with it. It remains a mystery why the Police didn’t enforce those laws over previous decades when naked sectarianism was the order of the day at certain football stadia. However, if we are to allow unfettered freedom of expression, then we as Celtic supporters need to be clear that it applies to all groups in our society. John J Ray, academic and Celtic fan commented on the jailing of a Rangers fan for ‘Sectarian’ singing by saying…

 ‘The other thing that strikes me is how anti-Catholic prejudice seems to be tolerated when it comes from our ‘national treasures’, like Stephen Fry or Richard Dawkins, but not when it comes out of the mouths of football fans. When the pope visited Britain two years ago, liberal campaigners lined up to accuse him of everything from hatred of women to paedophilia. To my knowledge, none of these words were deemed offensive enough to the UK’s Catholic community to prompt arrests or detentions, yet when a Rangers fan shouts of his hatred for the pope, that fan is locked up!’

 So those who wish to continue to sing songs about the conflict in Ireland may well have unlikely allies in those who want to sing the praises of loyalism. So what’s to be done? Do we have a free for all and return to the dark days of the 1960s and 70s? Of course not, but we currently have an unjust act which clearly isn’t working and ordinary young men being criminalised and having job and life prospects damaged for singing political songs. My thoughts are that the alleged £1.8m spent on policing relating to the act would have been better spent on education and anti-sectarian initiatives. You can’t outlaw opinions or political choices in a free society but you can channel such feelings into more appropriate areas. You can’t legislate hatred or bigotry away but you can try to make it less acceptable until it eventually withers and dies. It’s somewhat ironic that the anger this has caused makes it likely that more people will sing songs like ‘Roll of Honour’ as they seek to reassert the basic right to hold and express political opinion as well as show solidarity with the harassed minority. The ‘Threatening Behaviour at Football and Offensive Communications Act (Scotland) 2012’ has created more problems than it has solved and is in need of serious amendment or scrapping.

We saw from the life and death of Victor Jara that some see songs as dangerous weapons. Surely we’ve advanced enough in Scotland to accept diverse opinions without trying to make those opinions we disagree with illegal? And what of the Civil Liberties groups who were so appalled and vociferous when the Russian Pop band ‘Pussy Riot’ were imprisoned for 2 years for shouting anti-religious slogans in a church in Moscow? The silence from them and indeed the trade union movement is deafening. People’s rights are being infringed here, is that acceptable just because they’re football fans?

 

You'll Always Be With Us...

You’ll Always Be With Us…

Barry stood in the doorway of Sniper’s bedroom as he rummaged around in a drawer by his bed. ‘Yass!’ Sniper said in triumph before turning to face his friend. 'Ye see that?' said Sniper pointing at a small silver medal in his rather grubby left hand which showed a footballer on the front, 'Won that for the school team.' Barry shrugged, 'So what's so good about that, I won about 8 for St Robert's?' Sniper ignored the comment and pushed on, 'It's no the fact that we tanked that mob fae Nitshill in the final though it's always good tae beat they jakies, it's who presented the medals!' 'Will ye get tae the point ya big fud! Who presented ye wi yer wan and only feckin medal?' Barry said impatiently. 'Guess!' said Sniper, a garrulous smile on his face. 'Guess nothing! Tell me or I'm off! Ye sure drag a feckin story oot so ye dae?' Sniper smiled, 'Initials are TB.' Barry exhaled loudly then added in an irritated voice, 'Tony Blackburn? Tony Blair? Tallulah feckin Bawbag! Who actually cares, Sniper?' Sniper seemed to be enjoying the game but finally relented and said, 'It was Tommy Burns.' ‘Whit?’ said Barry, ‘Seriously, Tommy Burns came tae your school tae dish oot footy medals?’ Sniper smiled, ‘He sure did, while you were getting yours fae Mr Bam-Bam from the maths department, I got mine from a Celtic legend. Shook my haun tae so he did!’  Barry looked incredulously at Sniper as he was a man known to tell the odd lie. Sniper could see Barry wasn’t fully convinced and returned to the drawer and fished out a photo frame. He handed it to Barry who looked at the picture. It showed the unmistakable peanut shaped head of a much younger Sniper, hair cropped like a Borstal boy and wearing a baggy red and white school strip. He was shaking hands with an equally unmistakable Tommy Burns. Sniper was telling the truth. Barry shook his head ‘Well feck me wi the jaggy end of a pineapple, it is TB!’ Before Sniper could respond Mick arrived at the door and was shown in by Sniper’s long suffering mum, ‘Howzit going chaps, are we all set for dear old paradise tonight?’

The supporters bus dropped 70 hopeful Celtic fans near the Gallowgate and they streamed forward to join the human river flowing towards the stadium. Sure Celtic were miles behind Rangers in the SPL but they had two games against their bitter rivals to go and tonight was the first of them. It was a must win game, they all knew that. ‘Europe is cracking them up,’ said Mick, ‘they’re starting to burn out.’ Sniper nodded, ‘I’m telling you mate they’re crap, we’ll win this league.’ Barry thought it a long shot but Sniper’s usually blind optimism had been proven correct on other occasions. ‘Besides...’ Sniper went on, ‘I’ve got my lucky charm on me.’ Mick looked at him, ‘Lucky charm? What is it, yer certificate of insanity?’ Sniper smiled and pulled a piece of string from beneath the collar of his Celtic shirt. ‘It’s the medal handed to me by the great Tommy Burns back in the days when I could overlap like Danny McGrain.’ Barry looked at him, ‘Mer like Fanny McGrain in your case big man.’ Mick laughed, ‘Seriously, Tommy gave you that medal?’ Sniper nodded towards Barry, ‘Just ask dog’s breath Barry, he saw the picture.’ Barry nodded, ‘It’s true Mick, this big fud met TB.’  Sniper let the medal hang loosely around his neck as they reached the great North Stand of Celtic Park. ‘Could ye no afford a chain Sniper?’ asked Mick looking at the thick string around his friend’s neck. ‘You no afford soap, ya dick?’ said Sniper with a smile.’

It was mid-April in 2008 when Celtic met Rangers in a crucial game at Celtic Park. The atmosphere throbbed and sizzled as the game commenced and the three amigos who had shared so many great days following the Hoops roared themselves hoarse. Rangers were well ahead in the league and didn’t know whether to stick or twist. Celtic went for them from the off and only inspired goalkeeping kept them at bay. That changed in 20 minutes when Nakamura’s tremendous swerving shot slammed into the net. Sniper hugged his two friends with a ferocious passion as they celebrated the goal. In the second half a counter attack saw Novo snatch an undeserved equaliser and the minutes ticked away with the score tied. McDonald’s missed penalty seemed to confirm that Rangers would snatch the draw they came for but Celtic threw everything at them. Then in the very last minute of the game a cross was headed down by McDonald and Jan Venegoor of Hesselink met it with his head to snatch a dramatic last gasp winner. Celtic Park exploded! ‘Yaaasss!’ roared Sniper, ‘Told ye, we’re winning this league!’ Barry was starting to believe it might just be possible. As the final whistle sounded, Sniper grinned like a Cheshire cat and grabbed his lucky medal, held it to his lips and kissed it.

 

Three days later Celtic beat Aberdeen 1-0 and then faced Rangers again in a bruising encounter which they won by 3 goals to 2. They had dug deep after being 2-1 behind and Barry Robson’s penalty had sealed a vital win. It was now in their own hands. Motherwell were then beaten 2-1 away in a tense encounter and Hibs, who had held Rangers 0-0 the week before, were beaten 2-0 at Celtic Park. It would all come down to the last day of the season. Celtic were away at Dundee United and Rangers away to Aberdeen. It would be a tense finale to an incredible season.

A week before the game, the three friends met up in the pub to plan their trip to Dundee, no way they were missing this one. The mood though was sombre as the great Tommy Burns had lost his battle with skin cancer earlier in the day. ‘Guy was a legend’ said Mick, ‘One of the best men you could ever meet.’ Sniper seemed close to tears, ‘It’s no fuckin fair, decent guys dying young and complete arseholes living tae be a hundred.’ Barry patted his arm, ‘He’s in a better place Sniper. He had a strong faith.’ Sniper looked away, eyes moist, sighed and headed for the bar to buy another round. Mick shook his head and looked at Barry, ‘Big man’s taking this hard, mate.’ Barry nodded, ‘Tommy was his hero, gave him that medal years ago, you remember stuff like that.’ Mick sighed, ‘We all loved Tommy, pure Celtic so he was. The guy, bled green and white. Be nice if we won this league for him.’ Barry nodded, ‘We heading over to Celtic Park tomorrow? I hear Sniper’s set for it.’ Mick nodded as Sniper returned with the drinks, ‘Wouldn’t miss paying my respects tae that guy, wan of the best guys who ever wore the green.’

 

The following evening they drove over to the east end of Glasgow in bright spring sunshine. ‘Wonder if it’ll busy?’ asked Mick in quiet tones. Barry nodded, ‘I hear a few folk have left scarves and flowers by the front door.’ As they parked the Mick’s battered old Ford Escort and walked up Kerrydale towards the stadium it was clear that many, many people had come to pay their respects to Tommy Burns. ‘Jesus!’ said Barry, ‘Would you look at that, would ye just look at that!’ A huge area in front of Celtic Park was carpeted with Celtic strips, scarves, flags and other memorabilia. Thousands of flowers scented the air and here and there were pictures of Tommy Burns, many beside candles which flickered in the evening breeze. Many hundreds of people were wandering among the tributes reading the heartfelt messages left to honour one of the good guys. A group near the front door were saying the rosary as the three friends passed. Sniper tied a scarf he had worn in Seville onto the railing beside a drawing of Burns, arms raised after scoring a goal. Tears rolled down the tough big Glaswegians face. ‘There ye go mate,’ he said talking to a nearby picture of Tommy Burns, ’Yer an immortal now, yer wi big Jock and Jinky and we’ll never forget any of ye’ Barry watched the astonishing outpouring of emotion all around him and looked at Mick. He too was fighting back tears. ‘What is it with this club?’ Barry asked. ‘’I know,’ said Mick, ‘it’s incredible, it means so much to us all. It’s like we’re all connected.’ Barry nodded, understanding flooding his mind. We are all connected he thought to himself. We’re all Celtic people. He thought of the struggles of the community who gave Celtic birth and helped it reach the heights it had. They had all shared in that journey of triumph and disaster down the generations and overcome the obstacles put in their path. Mick, Sniper, Tommy Burns and literally untold hundreds of thousands of others were all part of the incredible story of Walfrid’s club.

 

Two days before the league decider at Dundee United Tommy Burns was buried. Thousands of ordinary Glaswegians and not just Celtic fans, packed the streets around St Mary’s church, the place where his beloved Celtic had been conceived 120 years earlier. Thousands more stood outside Celtic Park to listen to the funeral service being broadcast on speakers. As a black hearse containing the remains of Tommy Burns drove slowly down Kerrydale Street there was applause, tears and then spontaneous singing of his name. The road was littered with Celtic scarves and flowers thrown by fans. It was a last embrace this side of heaven for the Calton boy they held so dear. 

 

              Tanadice Park   22 May 2008

The supporters’ bus was rocking all the way to Dundee. Sniper, Barry and Mick sat at the back and joined in all the songs. This was the night, their date with destiny. The proposition was simple; win the game and Celtic would be Champions. Draw or lose and it could still be snatched from them. Celtic had won six games in a row. Make it seven and they’d be champions. The ground was packed as the three friends took their place in the stand above the managers dug out. Sniper had his football medal around his neck and touched it, as if for luck, every few minutes. The Celtic support were in raucous mood and their songs poured down onto the field. ‘This is it!’ said Barry as the teams came out, ‘Let’s do it Celtic!’ As the Hooped shirted Celtic team went into their pre-match Huddle a huge roar built up from the thousands of supporters they had inside the ground. Then they started singing a familiar song, ‘Tommy Burns, Tommy Burns, Tommy Burns!’ echoed around the stadium. The players had every incentive to win the title but could they do it?

The first half was a nervous affair with Celtic dominating but unable to score. Half time came and went as fans exchanged nervous glances and rumours about the score between Aberdeen and Rangers circulating. The second half saw Nakamura felled by a defender and a huge roar for a penalty but astonishingly the referee booked him for diving. Sniper was apoplectic with rage at the referee, ‘If we lose this, I’m invading the pitch and bootin his baws!’ he vowed. Then came one of those moments in sport which can act as a release valve for all the pent up tension and emotion. Firstly Aberdeen took the lead against Rangers 100 miles to the north and then in 72 minutes Jan Venegoor of Hesselink met a corner from the left with his head and bulleted the ball home. The Celtic support was in raptures! They roared out their songs in a non-stop cacophony of noise. Nothing was going to stop Celtic winning the title now! It had been an astonishing climax to the season. High above the pitch Sniper clutched his medal, ‘I told ye we’d do for ye Tommy! And we did!’ Barry and Mick stood either side of their friend, each with arm around his shoulder as they sang their hearts out.

As the players paraded the cup, Barry could see that each wearing a T shirt with a picture of Tommy Burns on it below which were the words ‘You’ll always be with us.’ He smiled as he watched Mick and Sniper cheer their heroes. ‘You’ll always be with us’ he thought to himself, ‘and we’ll always be with you. God bless you Tommy!’ He turned and joined in the chant with thousands of others as they sang in perfect unison, ‘Glasgow Celtic Champions Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Ooohh!’

 

Tommy Burns was home and so too was the Championship trophy. It was fitting tribute to a Celtic great.

 

 

Rivals not enemies

 

 

Rivals not enemies

Lutz Long watched his main competitor for the long jump gold medal foul for the second time. The judge raised his red flag to declare it a no jump. The handsome young German wandered over to the talented American and gave him some advice in front of 110,000 watching fans. ‘You’re jumping too late, try jumping from a few inches further back. You’ll make the qualifying distance no problem so why risk another foul and disqualification?’ It was a very sporting act from Long and he watched the young American take his advice and leap into the final. That young American eventually beat Long to the Gold medal. His name was Jesse Owens and this happened at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in front of Adolf Hitler. Owens, an African American, was aware of the Nazi’s crackpot racial theories and said afterwards that “It took a lot of courage for Lutz to befriend me in front of Hitler, you can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be a plating on the 24-karat friendship I felt for Luz Long at that moment.’’ Lutz Long was first to reach Owens when he smashed the World record and won his gold medal. He held Owens arm aloft, recognizing his sporting greatness as the crowd cheered. The two became good friends during those 1936 games and wrote to each other in the next few years. Of course the war came and Lutz Long lost his life fighting for the Wehrmacht in Italy.

You may wonder what tangent my mind has wandered off on tonight and I can’t blame you. I often seem to be on auto pilot as my fingers type out my stories. I think the story of Lutz Long and Jesse Owens came to mind as I saw another fine example of sportsmanship last night. When the excellent Andres Iniesta was leaving the field during the Celtic v Barcelona match a very rare thing occurred. A majority of the home fans applauded this excellent little footballer who has perhaps been among the top 5 players on earth for five or six years now. Despite Celtic being behind and the game looking lost those fans still had the intelligence to see that a cracking little player was leaving the field. That’s sportsmanship. That’s the Celtic way. Neymar may be the coming man of Spanish football and be blessed with wonderful footballing gifts but few of us have much respect for a young man given to overreacting to have opponents sent off. True greatness in sport is more than skill and pace, it is sportsmanship too and the Brazilian for all his talents is sadly lacking in this area. One Spanish Newspaper noted the sporting applause of Iniesta and stated…

‘The Celtic fans are the most encouraging fans for their own players, but also the most friendly and respectful of their opponents. Therefore their followers were quick to say farewell Andres Iniesta with a standing ovation when he was substituted in 88 minutes. Celtic Park thundered though the Scottish team was losing. In fact, thousands of fans stood up to applaud Iniesta.’

Of course we want our stadium to be a cauldron which helps push the team on and awe opponents but we know a player when we see one too and we know how to show respect to the many greats who have graced our stadium. I recall a Celtic v Ajax European Cup tie many years ago when a veteran Johan Cruyff appeared for the last time at Celtic Park. The game was a fantastic advert for attacking football and ended 2-2. The Jungle roared on the Hoops against a team with could boast class players such as Molby, Cruyff, Lerby, Olsen and a very young Marco Van Basten. Both teams were cheered from the field and Cruyff was given a special ovation in respect of his achievements in the game.  He said afterwards, ‘The Celtic crowd understand the game, they respect good players and that is why we respect them.’ Celtic won 2-1 in Amsterdam a fortnight later to knock Ajax out of the European Cup.

A few detractors were unhappy with the ovation Iniesta received  but the vast majority feel it’s right to allow each individual fan to choose whether to applaud a player or not. I think it’s important to realise that teams can be rivals without being enemies. Celtic has unique founding principles and our support have been wonderful maintaining them over the past 125 years. Sure we don’t like the divers and play actors but when we see a player who oozes class and plays the game the right way we aren’t afraid to show our appreciation, just as 100,000 Real Madrid fans cheered Jimmy Johnstone back in 1967 when he ripped their defence apart in the Bernabeu. Just like the Celtic supporters last night, the Madrid fans knew a player when they saw one.