Tiocfaidh Ar La Fanzine

The battle for a Club's identity

‘Soldiers are we whose lives are pledged to Ireland, some have come from a land beyond the sea. Sworn to be free no more our ancient sire land shall shelter the despot or the slave. Tonight we man the bhearna bhaoil In Erin's cause, come woe or weal, 'Mid cannons' roar and rifles peal, we will chant a soldier's song’.

‘From hills and farms the call to arms was heard by one and all, and from the glen came brave young men to answer Irelands call. T’was long ago we faced the foe the old brigade and me and by my side they fought and died that Ireland might be free’.

Two songs, a verse from each and both instantly recognizable to the vast majority of Celtic supporters everywhere, but only one of which, as stipulated by Lawwell, Quinn et al, the fans can sing without attracting the attentions of the PLC Gestapo.

So what is it that makes the Boys of the Old Brigade (BOTOB) so very different, in the eyes of some, from Amhrán na bhFiann? Surely both songs express similar sentiments? These being the pledge of one’s allegiance to an independent, united, socialist Republic, free from foreign oppression and for which one is prepared to fight, and if needs be, to die. Of course the obvious answer from those who are familiar with both would be that BOTOB contains a direct reference to the Irish Republican Army, whilst the other is the national anthem of a sovereign nation, albeit a partitioned one.

For most that might seem like a logical explanation, but on closer inspection it isn’t. The fact is that there are numerous other Republican songs which don’t invoke the IRA but do espouse the cause of Irish Nationhood, yet these too would incur the wrath of Lawwell’s heavies, if sung. And it is contradictions like this that highlight the weakness of the Boards case, should they be challenged, against that section of the support who are determined to uphold the history and traditions of following Celtic.

The PLC’s attempt to cleanse Celtic and the support of its unmistakable Irish identity is littered with similar contradictions. For instance, the board claims that Celtic is a Scottish team with ‘proud Irish links’. If that is the case why was it possible to buy a Republic of Ireland replica shirt from an official Club retail outlet but not a Scotland top? And why not a ‘Northern Ireland’(sic) top? Does the Board accept that the numbers of Scottish or ‘Northern Irish’(sic) Celtic supporters are so few and far between that it didn’t warrant stocking such items? Politically driven commercialism or simply market forces?

Another example was the Boards decision to invite the Tyrone Gaelic football team to parade the Sam Maguire trophy at Celtic park in January 2006, in recognition of their victory over Kerry in the All-Ireland final the previous September. Surely the PLC would have been aware of the GAA’s long and proud tradition of honouring Irelands Republican dead by naming grounds and tournaments after them? Indeed the very ethos of the Gaelic Athletic Association or to give it its proper title Cumann Lúthchleas Gael is; "A National organisation which has as its basic aim the strengthening of the National Identity of a 32 County Ireland through the preservation and promotion of Gaelic Games and pastimes". Isn’t that everything that the current Board of Directors is opposed to? How can they reconcile their merchandising tactics or relationships with bodies such as the CLG/GAA with the stance it has taken to deter supporters from articulating in song a political opinion that the CLG/GAA would undoubtedly promote?

Of course these are all issues that Celtic PLC are reluctant to debate or address in public forums apart from issuing the occasional terse statement denouncing the singing of such songs. And they have stubbornly refused to engage either individual supporters or CSC’s at any level during their campaign to re-establish the Club as a Scottish one far removed from its true origins.

The battle for the hearts and minds of Celtic supporters which the Club has launched is not one they will easily win, if at all. The politically active support base among the faithful have grown accustomed to the disregard of the PLC for the principles of Celtics history in recent years, as demonstrated in its business transactions with less then ethical corporations such as Nike, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Coors etc, etc. But this is different, and the PLC’s determination in pursuing an anti Irish agenda might just be the straw that breaks the camels back.

So would the Board be prepared to commit the ultimate betrayal of Celtics history and ‘take it down from the mast’, a deed that would eradicate once and for all the Republican element that so embarrasses Mr Lawwell? The answer is no and the reason is Irish America. The PLC have gone to great lengths in recent seasons in their efforts to establish the ‘Celtic global brand’ Stateside. And needless to say given the financial constraints of operating in the Scottish game and the meagre amounts of money available from TV rights here it’s a market which they can ill afford to alienate. And so we are confronted with yet another glaring example of the Boards hypocrisy, Scottish with proud Irish links on this side of the Atlantic but very definitely Irish in the good old U. S. of A. Perhaps it's called ‘working for the Yankee dollar’.

No matter how you approach Celtic Park you cannot escape the identity of the club. It is all pervasive, almost evocative; like an instantly recognizable scent that stimulates cherished memories buried deep in the sub-consciousness. It might be the air of an old Irish ballad that drifts out from one of the many Celtic bars which line the route from Glasgow Cross to Parkhead Forge. It could be the second, third or fourth generation Glasgow born Irish teenagers making their way along the Gallowgate draped from head to toe in the Green, White and Orange, or the regional accents of thousands of fans from across the four provinces, young and old alike, as they pour out of dozens of Irish buses having been on the road since the wee small hours and in all weathers. They haven’t come to cheer a Scottish team, they are here to see ‘The Grand Old Team’. As James Connolly might have been moved to say, ‘the cause of Ireland is the cause of Celtic and the cause of Celtic is the cause of Ireland’.

Celtic Directors should be mindful of this as they chart a course in the months ahead. If they really want to sell this club in the land of opportunity, or anywhere else for that matter then they must do so because of its history and not in spite of it. The world is a much smaller place these days and the Irish diaspora, whether here or far away in the ‘shores of Americay’ to employ poetic licence, might just not take too kindly to Celtic PLC biting the hand that feeds it. Let The People Sing.

Holloway Gael.