A monk called brother Walfrid, established Celtic football club November 6th, 1887. The only reason we exist as a club, was down to this mans compassion towards the influx of Irish immigrants to Glasgow. It’s said that half of all Glaswegians are of Irish decent. If you count them along with the original settlers that came over from Ireland to Scotland in our earliest history, then it would probably be more like half of Scotland.
Brother Walfrid’s idea was to set up a football club to raise money for local people in the east end. A noble cause that brought about one of the finest football teams in the world, and helped many people of Scottish and Irish decent get through a difficult period of our history.
I call us one of the finest teams in the world, but nowadays because of other leagues being more attractive and able to pay more money for quality players, I fear I’ll never see another Celtic team the likes of the Lisbon Lions in my lifetime. The Lisbon Lions won everything there was to win in 1967. They were the first British and northern European team to win the European cup, and remain the only Scottish team ever to do so. All the players in the squad were local guys born within 30 miles of Celtic park.
It’s fair to point out that if you are a Roman catholic, and stay in Glasgow; nine out of ten times, you’re going to support Celtic. And, if you’re a protestant in Glasgow, you would support Rangers. There have been many deaths accredited to religious intolerance, and fan rivalry, and there is always fights to enjoy outside my window after an old firm game. I stay near pubs called the Loudon Tavern, and the Bristol. Both of these bars are pure blue, Rangers supporting pubs. If you walked in with a Celtic top on, you’d better be a good runner. On several occasions (luckily, before I’d moved in to the area), there have been full-blown riots on Duke Street.
Both clubs have distanced themselves from sectarianism. Both clubs have run campaigns to try to end such backward thinking. Both clubs sign players from every religious background. Unfortunately, there are still a section of both support, that hold tight to the bigotry.
This bigotry is in full flow during every old firm game. Some of the songs sung at these matches have been deemed racist. More so the songs sung by Rangers recently. Songs like Hello, Hello, which has lines in it about being ‘up to their neck in Fenian blood’, and even more recently, the Famine song. This was a song about all the Irish immigrants ‘going home’ now that the potato famine, which killed over a million people, was over. When the Irish government caught wind of the Famine song, they complained to the Scottish government, and it was made illegal to sing. There have been arrests and convictions since this law was past.
Celtic anthems are filled with songs about the struggle for independence using terrorism. These Rebel songs are very offensive to Rangers fans. Some see it as a slap in the face because they are British, and it was British people killed in the bombings. Some support the UDA as vehemently as some Celtic fans support the IRA.
While other supporters consider some of the songs sung by the Celtic support offensive, they aren’t illegal because they are folk songs. These songs are widely heard in pubs and clubs throughout the Republic of Ireland, and to deem them offensive to British people and ban them, would be like trying to stop America from celebrating Independence Day.
It’s a controversial topic, one that in my opinion has nothing to do with football. I support Celtic for the game of athletic beauty, the last minute goals, and the camaraderie during the low points. While I’m proud of our Irish roots, I am Scottish. I would love for Scotland to be independent, just like the ROI, but that’s a different topic. For now, just know that when Scotland play the Republic of Ireland, I’m there with my kilt on, and you would never, never catch me looking like some daft leprechaun!
Oh, shit!
10 comments:
"...would be like trying to stop America from celebrating Independence Day."Ya know, I hadn't really thought about it like that. It's not like we run around every Fourth of July screaming "F*** the British!", but still I wonder if there's a tad bit of awkwardness in mixed company...
I can't even fathom the complexities that intertwine the English, Scottish and Irish cultures.
Ha! No, I don't think it would be awkward in mixed company. It's a long time ago, and America moved on from British rule, and became the Daddy.
It's a fantastic example of a strong society coming together and writing your own rules. I think Scotland should follow America, and other former colonies example. We used to be the 12th richest country in the world, and we're still oil rich. Unfortunately, all the oil pipes in the North Sea are foreign owned.
It’s weird how things are over here. There is so much history of religious hatred, dating back as far as the reformation, further even! That’s a lot of arguments, over a long, long time. The Orange order still march down my street celebrating the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. It would be nice if the West coast of Scotland could finally put sectarianism behind it, but something tells me it will be the same for years to come. I think we need to start with the schools. If there were no more Catholic, Muslim or Protestant schools, it would lead to greater understanding and tolerance from a young age. We live in hope.
An excellent post, Marky. It kind of read like a nice, contemporary history piece, but instead of historicity, it dealt predominantly with football. (I've been trying to change my American ways and call soccer football, like the rest of the world.) Who knew that a song could be deemed illegal?
I'm a proud follower of Jesus Christ, but I am not a religious intolerant. Close mindedness and bigotry put a sour smell in the bottom of my stomach. How can people be so cruel? Everybody is important and special, and everyone deserves the right to be loved and respected. There will always be differences--culturally, religiously, favorite sports team--and these differences should not be a point of contention. There's no good reason to hold grudges and fight, just because someone thinks differently.
Ahh, I get ahead of myself. Have I ever mentioned Braveheart was the favorite movie of me and my brother growing up? We had every line memorized. Partially because my family, the Stewarts, are red-headed, freckled, and Scot-Irish. Mostly because of the emotions stirred up and the fighting. Even if the movie is not historically accurate, it was a great film, eh?
(Sorry for the length of the comment.)
I refuse to tolerate intolerance.
Great post, it helps me put some things in perspective and it is funny to think about. Here in the Pacific NW USA we think a house is "old" if it was built in 1906!
Our football (Sounders not Seahawks) team has folded three times since 1974 and has been recently revived by a comedian named Drew Carey I think it was way back in 2007! AHHH what a rich history.
That plus Washington and I think Oregon have the least amount of people who actually belong to a religious congregation (of any flavor) in the U.S. so we fight about politics much more bitterly than religion.
"You're Catholic, that's cool...WHAT!? You are also a Libertarian, sorry, this isn't going to work out."
I guess where I am going with this is that Scotland is and was fierce.
There is a very definitive and ageless pride. Scotland was fighting off England long before the US existed. Is the fact that there still is a country called Scotland merely due to English largesse? (I actually do not know the answer to that...definitely not a rhetorical question,although it would have sounded WAY better if ir was.)
In the U.S. everyone is always tracing back and honoring their original heritage and also very much attached to national patriotism. Don't get me wrong, we have plenty of pride. After all, we all learn about what happened in 1620 and were considered English until several years after 1776.
I am also sorry about this lengthy post. I am Irish, French and Russian, and when I was growing up my favorite movie was...
Dr.ZhivaGodfatheRedballoon.
Hey, I knew you had a beard Marky but I didn't know it was red. How daring!
Holy heck, now I won't be able to drink Guinness again without thinking of you with a beard hiding your beard, Marky.
Good show, buddy, good show.
A great read - seems to be a pattern with you!
I've only been over in that area of the world once (so far) in my life - a 2 week trip to Ireland in 2001 (stayed north, mostly). Ironically, one of the things I bought over there was a Celtic necktie, which I thought was wicked cool. I should send you a pic, so you can laugh at me for being such a tourist...
Good post - wish you'd post more frequently! But, hey, unlike me, most people have real lives...
Logan, Braveheart was a great movie. It was brilliant for the tourist industry, even if big Mel did take some liberties, and shot most of it in Ireland. The Stewarts, is it? Your official family motto is cool. It goes, "Virescit vulnere virtus" which means, "Courage grows strong at a wound".
Religious intolerance is a strange beast. I’ve known people who grew up thinking it was all a bunch of nonsense, only later, to turn as bigoted as the people they loathed. If you’re faced with bigotry everyday, it has the potential to turn you into that which you hate. It’s a viscous cycle. Intolerance is hate, and hate is archetypical.
Don’t worry about lengthy comments! I enjoy the chat.
Matt, I hear you. I’ve no patience for the impatient!
Sedulo, I think my flat was built in about 1930’s. I’m not sure if it were damaged during the Blitz and rebuilt. I’ll need to check; actually, I’d quite like to know the history of the flat. I’ve just not got round to doing the homework yet.
The fact that Scotland’s still a country? Basically, in 1603, England had a monarch called James I, who was king of Scotland an Ireland, until the last of the Tudors died. We called him James the IV. When he became the complete ruler of the UK, many Catholics were unhappy at their treatment under the protestant king. Hence, the gunpowder plot. An interesting read, if you like your history stuff.
King James set up a union of the crowns. Bringing all the crowns under one ruler. That was when the Union Jack, was designed. He had done in a couple of years, what English rulers had tried to do for hundreds of years. Bring Scotland and Ireland under Heel, and not a battle fought.
I admire that about Americans, most know their history. It isn’t like that here. I always remember the history we were taught at school. It was very little about British history. We learned about things like the French/Russian Revolutions, and the Kennedy assassination. It was mostly world history. I guess they thought our own history was too much to take in. There is a lot, but it’s sooooo interesting.
Irish, French and Russian! That’s a heck of a lot of History for you to look into. I envy you! Again with the ‘Don’t worry about long comments’ comment! You should know better! Tsk, Tsk.
Joe, underneath, the beard underneath is a similar situation to Mr Chuck Norris. There be a fist under there! I like Guinness with a little blackcurrant. Please feel free to deduct one man point.
David, I’d love to see that tie! Cheers for the compliment, and please help yourself to one of my man points for the girlish pride giggle that just escaped my lips. I’ll try to post more. If you can take it, I can bake it! And I’ll be checking in on your blog more often now that I know you post all the time! In fact, consider yourself followed. In a none creepy way of course.
And I urge everybody to check out David’s blog if you like randomness, sarcasm, killer one-liners and damn good writing.
I’m off to the game now. Celtic vs Aberdeen. I love staying ten minutes away from Celtic park, it’s so darn handy!
Cheers folks.
Did you see that Patrick Rothfuss will be in Edinburgh and Glasgow in the end of May? If you can get an extra signed copy of Name of the Wind for me, I'll pay you handsomely for it...
David, that wouldn't be a problem. I'm thinking of getting him to sign everything that I own!
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