The great hunger

It is appropriate that the Irish National Famine Memorial day should coincide with the meeting of two of Scotland's three great clubs of Irish origin.

In 1875, Hibernian were one of the first clubs in Scotland to seek to give the Irish community a place at the table of Scottish football. Dundee Hibernians, later to be known as Dundee United, came much later, in 1909, formed by businessmen with Irish roots. There were many others, which came and went, barely to be remembered now as anything more than curios appearing in historical reference books.

Some Scottish journalists railed against the early Irish clubs, decrying their use of the words, “Hibernian” or “Shamrock”, and urging them to come up with “proper names”.

In 1887, they got their wish with the foundation of Celtic. It could easily be forgotten that in the early days, it was Hibernian that was the inspiration for Celtic as well as being the more strident in its interpretation of how best to further the interests of an oppressed Irish Catholic community in Scotland.

Its early policy of favouring players of Catholic backgrounds is now nothing more than a historical foible, one that Celtic would choose not to follow. Yet, without Hibs – without the vision the Edinburgh club inspired – there may never have been a Celtic.

Today Hibernian FC is far removed from the ideals of that early club though it will still attract a greater proportion of supporters of Irish origin than its Edinburgh rivals, Hearts. Celtic, through the will of its supporters, clings more dearly to the culture and heritage that gave it breath – the Irish in Scotland.

It is apt that the club should commemorate Famine Memorial Day. Celtic was born of Irish blood, sweat and tears. Impoverished men built the first Celtic Park with their bare hands for no pay. They were not building a brand or a business but an ideal; a vehicle in which to invest the dreams of the wretched. They created something bigger than themselves, something enduring through which the humble might know glory, where people deprived of education might write and live a great story.

The league of legends is just one aspect of our club's history. The unnamed million is another no less deserving of commemoration. Some would say that we should speak less of them; that our inclusiveness demands it. Yet our origins and identity are embraced the world over, often by those without a drop of Celtic blood. In Catalunya, in Palestine, in post-Communist Europe – wherever people recognise a struggle for dignity and identity in a hostile culture, you will find people who see parallels with their own story. They see no barriers in the Irishness of Celtic.

Let us hope that those who direct the club's future remain as clear-sighted and that supporters will remain watchful should there ever be a hint that that identity might ever be diminished. On Sunday Celtic will wear a Celtic cross around the corporate trademark of Celtic plc, one more sign of changing values. But tradition is a thing that, once lost, you may never hope to re-find.

The club statement reads: “We are a club open to all and while we celebrate our traditions, it is important that we also celebrate our diversity.” We always have done.

• www.irishholocaust.org
  

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McVicar, Murphy and the integrity of Walter Smith

He is, according to all who have managed his reputation in the media, a “prince among men”. I refer, of course to the R-word manager, Walter Smith.

A “disciplinarian” who oversaw the most unruly bunch of thugs and boozers in Scottish football during his first stint in Scotland – the flute-players, the car vandals, the kebab shop kids and the terrorist associates who turned out in royal blue in the name of queen and country. It was, as he infamously put it, all part of the “Protestant superiority complex at Ibrox”.

Scarcely has a word of criticism been written of Smith by the “legitimate” media; those whose opportunities to share the fruits of David Murray's wine cellar allegedly add a weight to their opinions that their intellectual fortitude can never hope to support.

Perhaps most notably, Smith has indulged in specific abuse of officials that has yet to draw comment from the “sensible” media, by which we mean the Jacksons and Broadfoots of the world.

Nor has the SFA's “referee's chief” Donald McVicar defended match officials against the aggressive tirades and distasteful innuendo perpetrated by Sir Walter-in-Waiting.

When he specifically named linesman Tom Murphy, recalling a disputed decision in a match his team played with Celtic, the SFA decided there was “no case to answer”.

What was not reported in the established media was that this followed a written apology from Smith to Murphy, without which the authorities could scarcely have failed to take official action. The exact content of the letter can be known only to Smith and Murphy but we might assume that any such letter of atonement contained some form of assurance that further abuse would not be directed at the assistant referee.

And Smith had good reason to be grateful to Murphy. At half-time at in the same game at Celtic Park last season, his then captain (since abandoned) directed such venom at Murphy that an officer from Strathclyde Police offered to intervene. Murphy's response was to request that no action be taken, pleading on Ferguson's behalf that he was “just upset”.

Was this incident reported by the Ibrox in-house tabloid, the Daily Record? Were the paid hacks who masquerade under the title of journalists unaware of the events? We must draw our own conclusions.

Perhaps it is too much to stomach that the manager of the vanguard of Scottish bigotry should have had to cow-tow to a man named Murphy, a man who had already spared his club the shame of yet more police action.

Perhaps, also, it is too much for Smith to be a man of his word and to refrain from intensifying the invective against an official whose errors have been paltry in comparison to, let's say, Mike McCurry.

And in all this there is a gap usually filled by the gargantuan mouth of McVicar. When Iain Brines was perceived to have made errors that disadvantaged Rangers, McVicar condemned the state of refereeing before declining to re-list Brines as on the FIFA list. He was then, on Saturday, given an opportunity to make amends, to “even the score”, which he was quick to take. Might Brines be restored to the FIFA list for 2010?

Murphy's chance is to be offered this week. Assured of 90 minutes of abuse that has been at least tacitly endorsed by Smith, what chance is there of his flagging for a major decision for Celtic as the spittle and sectarian abuse fly?

How many dives will Nacho Novo, Kenny Miller, Kyle Lafferty or Kris Boyd need to make before their first penalty? With the intensive scrutiny and lack of support being offered to Murphy, you can expect that to be within the first three.

Of course, some might expect that Celtic could likewise expect to benefit from refereeing redress in the coming weeks. But, then, the officials are impartial.










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Sounds a bit Irish?

On 30th January 1982, a 17-year-old Paul McStay scored on his debut for Celtic in a league victory over Aberdeen, laying immediate claim to a central midfield position that would be his own for 15 years.

Moral of the story: if you're good enough, you're old enough.

24th May 1995 – an 18-year-old Patrick Kluivert scores the winning goal for Ajax against AC Milan in the Champions League final.

Moral of the story: if you're good enough, you're old enough.

30 June 1998 – Michael Owen, aged 18, scores the World Cup goal of the tournament for England against Argentina.

Moral of the story: if you're good enough, you're old enough.

15th March 2009 – 22-year-old Darren O'Dea scores against Rangers in the CIS Cup Final, two and a half years after his Celtic debut, having faced AC Milan in the Champions League and been included in Giovanni Trapattonni's Irish national squads.

Moral of the story: the boy needs more time?

Facing the most crucial match of the season on Saturday, Celtic must choose two reliable central defenders, capable of holding their nerve under immense pressure and, most likely, extreme provocation.

O'Dea, who has acquitted himself well at left-back but was nevertheless born to play in the centre, somehow finds himself fourth-choice. Yet, he has never baulked at a challenge and, of all the defenders at the club, he has the greatest potential.

Given the near certainty that Stephen McManus's injuries will rule him out for the game, O'Dea should be considered a must-have in the team. But still, he is cosseted as McManus, Gary Caldwell and Glen Loovens have all been preferred to the Irishman, who has rarely put a foot wrong in a Celtic jersey. Isn't it time to trust him for the biggest challenge of all?

On the form he has shown this season, nobody could reasonably argue against the inclusion of Gary Caldwell. However, though there are similarities between the two players (apart from their haircuts), it is O'Dea who is the more naturally talented and whose use of the ball is better. And you cannot have too many defenders who can win the ball in the air as well as being comfortable on the ground.

It remains to be seen whether Caldwell will play in defence or be pushed into a midfield role to nullify the Rangers central midfield, which is after all approximately 50% of the R-word's entire threat.

But it seems inconceivable that a talent such as O'Dea could again be confined to the bench when all that stands between him and a flourishing career is opportunity.

It would be as wrong to use Saturday's match to placate a player who may soon look elsewhere to further his career as it would be unforgivable to lose an exceptional talent through near-obsessive over-protection.

But, despite the misconceptions of the ignorant, decisions that sound a bit Irish are most often eminently sensible. Just ask Michael, Patrick and Paul.





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