Tiocfaidh Ar La Fanzine
The fanzine for republican-minded Celtic supporters
FAMINE, FAITH AND FOOTBALL
FAMINE, FAITH AND
FOOTBALL
For
a number of years now the revisionists within
Whilst the statement recognises the role played by Brother Walfrid of the
Marist Order in the formation of Celtic, it makes no mention of the many other
individuals whose belief in and support for the project was instrumental in its
success. Undoubtedly this is because of the strong political and religious
convictions of the majority of those involved. They included Fenian activist
Pat Welsh who for many years was on the run from the British authorities,
William McKillop and John Quillan who were both leading lights of the Irish
National Land League in Glasgow, JM Nellis and Joseph O’Shaughnessy who founded
the St Aloysious Society, as well as prominent Catholic businessmen in the city
such as John Glass, who was hugely influential throughout the whole process of
establishing ‘The Celtic Football Club’. And when the Club made the short move
from its first home to its current location in 1892 it was Irish Revolutionary
and Land Reformer Michael Davitt who was asked to lay the first sod of turf at
the new
Neither does the statement put into context the political or historical events
that allowed such abject poverty and destitution to exist at that time, and
which necessitated the intervention of Walfrid and others to attempt to
alleviate the terrible suffering of the immigrant Irish population in the East
end of Glasgow. The events were of course the Irish potato famine or ‘An Gorta
Mor’ (The Great Hunger) and the deadly hand played by the British Empire in
maximising the catastrophic effect it had in
And so the Celtic Football Club came into being. Needless to say the Irish
Nationalism and Catholic devotion which was prevalent in both founders and
beneficiaries alike quickly manifested itself into support for the football
team. The identity of Celtic FC was very much Irish and Catholic and it is one
of which its followers were fiercely proud of and has been inherited in story
and in song by subsequent generations of Celtic supporters ever since. However,
Celtic was then, and always will be, an inclusive institution which welcomes
people from all backgrounds irrespective of creed, colour or race. Without that
inclusiveness it could never have succeeded in scaling the heights it did and
to which it still aspires.
Nonetheless it seems the PLC are determined to roll over to a bigoted
conspiracy of media misrepresentation, a partial governing body and political
pressure, all of which is intended to see that identity banished to the east
end slum tenements of late nineteenth century Glasgow from where it originated.
Of course such a conspiracy conveniently fits the clubs corporate agenda very
nicely thank you very much and in the meantime the PLC hides behind the threat
of UEFA sanctions against the club if what the Board deem ‘bigoted and
offensive chanting’ continues. Witness the ongoing crackdown by stewards on
fans who engage in any kind of public display in support of the Clubs
undeniable Irish heritage, including the singing of songs which aspire to the
ideal of Irish unity and freedom from foreign oppression, however subtle any
references to those ideals might be.
It is nothing short of disgraceful that the Clubs patrons have embarked upon
such a course of action. Celtic Football Club is one of the great sporting
institutions and its history is both unique and laudable. Wherever the Irish
have gone in the world their presence and contribution to society in their
adopted homes has been justifiably recognised. But in
Celtic supporters recently chose to remember the man widely recognised with
giving birth to the Club by commissioning and financing a statue in his honour,
Brother Walfrid now stands proudly outside the main entrance to
Holloway Gael
