The Celtic History Podcast

God Save Ireland is a patriotic Irish song that has a major place in Celtic's history. This is the story behind the ballad.

In 1901, Rangers won the Glasgow Exhibition Cup in very controversial fashion. A year later, Celtic would become champions of Britain and end up keeping a trophy engraved with the words 'Won By Rangers FC'. Here's how!

www.amazon.co.uk/TAKE-ME-YOUR-PARADISE-incidents/dp/1700120271/

In the late 1800s, Celtic hosted the World Cycling Championships at Paradise. The decision to do so would have a major impact on the future direction of the club.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TAKE-ME-YOUR-PARADISE-incidents/dp/1700120271/

The story of a group of Celtic supporters who took forceful action against agents from English clubs, who kept signing Celtic players in the days before professionalism was introduced to Scottish football.

In 2002 an official greatest Celtic XI was voted for by supporters. However, no players from before the Lisbon Lions era featured in the team. To ensure that the heroes from the first 80 years of Celtic's history are not forgotten, it was decided that a podcast on the Greatest Celtic XI, comprised of players who did not play for the club after 1966, should be arranged.

Joining me to discuss this topic were renowned historians David Potter and Matt Corr, while David Faulds took on the role of host.

The three of us historians came up with a team each and an article will now be published on The Celtic Star website, where fans can vote on the matter to decide upon one definitive Pre-Lisbon 11.

Visit thecelticstar.com to see the article.

To view the video version of this podcast, please visit The Celtic Star YouTube channel.

Celtic Park suffered two stadium fires in the first half of the 20th century. The impact is still felt today as some incredibly valuable items were destroyed. This short episode tells the story of those events

Belfast Celtic FC was a legendary Irish football club, which played a key role in the history of Celtic FC in Glasgow. This episode looks at the relationship between the two famous institutions and the role which the Belfast Celts played in shaping the Glasgow club's identity.

"When we had nothing, we had Belfast Celtic. Then we had everything!"

Former Celtic star Alan Thompson is set to release a biography - A Geordie Bhoy - on 1 December 2021. In this episode, Tommo gives listeners a taste of what to expect in the book, as he talks about his time at Celtic, his wider football career, and shares some personal stories away from the pitch.

A Geordie Bhoy is available for Pre-Order NOW (on Amazon and warcrypress.co.uk). 

When fully released, it will continue to be available from those same websites, and other retailers - details of which will be posted on Twitter @jamieboyle10 and @Alantommo8

A Geordie Bhoy is written by Jamie Boyle and the foreword is penned by Martin O'Neill

In the modern game, Celtic Football Club can no longer be as politically outspoken as it once was. Governing bodies and sponsors dictate that, but whilst this is the case at boardroom level, many supporters of the club remain vocal in their political views and sympathies.

This episode looks at the political history of Celtic Football Club. It sticks to the facts rather than opinion, as it is not for me to say what is right or wrong. Though, I do offer a distinction between politics and humanitarianism in the opening segment.

I originally recorded this episode in May 2021, after an issue involving Palestinian flags at Celtic Park. However, I have decided to re-release the episode now, on the eve of Celtic's clash with Ferencvaros in Hungary due to the political history involving the clubs.

Celtic were formed by people of political mind. Almost all of the founders were involved in political organisations in Glasgow such as the Irish National League. One of the club's founding fathers, Pat Welsh, was a wanted Fenian who took part in an uprising for Irish independence in 1867. Another founding father, Joseph Shaughnessy, represented 10 IRB men in a legal case surrounding the blowing up of a gasometers in Glasgow. Michael Davitt was named as Celtic's second ever Patron and may have been responsible for the name 'Celtic' being given to the club. Davitt was an MP, founder of the Land Leagues, a Socialist, an Internationalist, and a convicted Irish Republican. He was invited to lay the first sod of turf at the new Celtic Park in 1892, an event at which Irish Nationalist MP Timothy Daniel Sullivan sung his anthem God Save Ireland - a tribute to the three Fenians known as the Manchester Martyrs, who were executed following a sham trial little over two decades earlier.

The club publicly protested against British involvement in the Boer War, held matches to raise funds for evicted tenants, and also sent a high profile delegation to Dublin to take part in the Irish Race Convention - designed to plan a route towards achieving Irish Home Rule - in 1896.

From those political beginnings, a friendship with Belfast Celtic hardened the supporters' political views, particularly as the situation in the North of Ireland worsened after Belfast Celtic were forced to fold.

Meanwhile, in the late 1960s, Bob Kelly refused to fulfill a European Cup tie against Hungarian opponents Ferencvaros. Kelly did so in protest against the Soviet invasions of Czechoslovakia, of which Hungary were a part. He famously said that "there are things for Celtic more important than money," and the club's stance caused a huge chain reaction across European sport.

Sit back and enjoy some of these stories and more... whatever your view on politics at Celtic Park - one can't deny the historical facts.

Steve Finan is a journalist of 40 years' standing who has made the transition to author. He is a cobwebbed and dusty expert on newspaper and magazine archives and creates football nostalgia books, mainly drawing upon the extensive material in the DC Thomson archive.

One of his recent books, Celtic In The Black & White Era, features hundreds of previously unseen classic Celtic photos from the glory days. Even if you know the history... you haven't seen it like this. These photos have lain hidden in archives for 40, 50 or even 60 years. They show the great events such as the European Cup triumph of 1967, Hampden in the sun, Gil Heron’s debut, the John Thomson tragedy, and the Leeds United European tie of 1970. There are also scores of behind-the-scenes photos, images of Celtic heroes of the past as you’ve never seen them, and “new” old photos of the great games. It is the ideal gift for any Celtic-minded person - nostalgia for those who remember, a chance to experience the halcyon days for those who don’t. There’s never been a Celtic book like it!

In this episode, Steve and myself discuss some iconic moments in Celtic's history, reminisce about the great characters at the club, and give listeners a taste of the photographs included in the book. We also touch on some of Steve's forthcoming projects, in which Celtic feature extensively.

You can buy copies of Celtic In The Black & White Era from Waterstones, Amazon or the DC Thomson shop by clicking HERE