the hand of god?
part 2.

To understand the political spectrum of 1888, one must be aware of the fledgling Labour Movement in Britain, the Irish National League - which spoke for the vast majority of the Irish in Scotland - the Home Government Branch, which was the local branch network of the Irish National League, and of course, the politics of Irish Home Rule, as primarily advocated in Westminster, by Gladstone's Liberals.

These, then, were the political interests of the Irish Catholic community of Scotland and this was reflected by the Irish Catholic press of the time - the Glasgow Observer, for instance - where one was far more likely to read about evictions, executions and 'Fenian' activity in Ireland than about uniquely British events on the mainland. Indeed, as an example of this, on the day that Celtic Park officially opened, May 8th 1888, the Glasgow Observer relayed this newsworthy item, as well as numerous articles about Irish current affairs, but provided scant coverage of Queen Victoria's royal visit to Glasgow on that day.

The political opinions of Brother Walfrid will forever remain a secret. What cannot be denied, however, are the politics of those that surrounded the Marist priest. Ireland and Britain were hotbeds of political ideologies in the 19th Century, and these ideologies would impact on the embryonic concept of a Celtic Football Club. Indeed, had they not done so, our Club may not have survived, falling by the wayside like so many others, and our Club may not have been born with the genetics for equality, liberty, fraternity, integration and non-sectarianism at is very core.

Walfrid surrounded himself with men who were the driving forces behind many of these political ideologies - men such as John Glass, Pat Welsh, Dr. John Conway, James Quillan, William McKillop, John O'Hara, Thomas Flood, J.M. Nellis, Joseph Shaughnessy and Hugh and Arthur Murphy. Brother Walfrid would also have connections with John Ferguson and Michael Davitt. It must be assumed that he did so by choice. It was a wise choice, indeed.

Brother Walfrid's Men Of Vision

Brother Walfrid had, through his charitable, teaching and ecumenical activities, collated a considerable database of contacts, colleagues, friends and acquaintances, many of whom would be of sterling use in the founding of Celtic; each would bring his own unique attributes to the table of creation. Indeed, Brother Walfrid was later described by Tom Maley, former Celtic player, Celtic committee man and brother of then Celtic manager, Willie Maley, as: 'A wonderful, organising power... of lovable nature' and a man who 'only had to knock, and it was opened.' Admirable qualities, and they would be very useful in the art of persuasion, when it was necessary.

Of course, the fact that Brother Walfrid was both respected and revered throughout Glasgow, for his charitable works and devotion to the poor, would also be an undeniable attraction for assistance. Each of the men that Brother Walfrid associated with in the formation of the fledgling Celtic concept were philanthropists, successful men in their own fields of expertise and, crucially, they were politically active to varying degrees.

Political astuteness would be fundamental for the choices that lay ahead. Had they not chosen the path that they did, the longevity and success of Celtic would have been compromised from the beginning.

Patrick Welsh, for instance, had been, in Ireland, a Fenian activist, fighting against the British Army's occupational force - the latter needed to keep the peace and serve The Empire's requirements at a time when Ireland was, almost every day, on the brink of yet another rebellion against imperial plundering of the land. For weeks in 1867, Welsh had been on the run from the British authorities, but was apprehended by a 37- year old British soldier - Sergeant Thomas Maley of the Royal North British Fusiliers - at Dublin quay, as Welsh was attempting to flee his country of birth for the prospect of a new and peaceful life in Scotland. Fortunately for Welsh, whose fate might have been imprisonment or the gallows, Sergeant Maley was an Irish Catholic who had wrestled with his conscience while serving Queen Victoria in Ireland. Maley had had no such doubts about soldiering elsewhere in Britain's vast Empire, but for him the Army was a career that brought internal conflicts while he was serving Her Majesty in Ireland. Also fortunately for Pat Welsh, there were no other witnesses to his capture.

Sergeant Maley, whose third son, Willie, would be born the next year, demanded that Welsh would not break their own peace treaty and Maley allowed the eternally grateful Pat Welsh to escape to Scotland. Pat Welsh would become a master tailor with premises on fashionable Buchanan Street, Glasgow, where he would prosper both as a businessman and as a family man. He kept his word to Sergeant Maley and, in the years to come, recognising that Maley could have faced court-martial for his act, Pat Welsh remained firm friends with Thomas Maley when the soldier retired from the British Army and moved to Cathcart village, near Glasgow, with his Scottish wife and their four sons, Charles, Tom, Willie and Alec.

This was, also, a twist of fate that would hugely benefit Celtic. Sergeant Maley's second son, Tom, would play for Celtic and would also become a Celtic committee man. Willie would do likewise, though Willie is also known as 'Mr Celtic' for what he achieved for the Club over a fifty-year period. And all because of a selfless act of humanitarianism!

Dr John Conway was a brilliant medical student and a graduate of Glasgow University School of Medicine where he achieved the Degree of Member of the Royal College of Physicians. However, Dr Conway revoked the privilege of his middle class upbringing and the possibility of a lucrative career as a General Practitioner serving the needs of the wealthy, their warts and their addictions to opium and alcohol. Instead, Dr Conway practised medicine in Glasgow's East End. He would be damned busy.

Diseases such as Scarlet Fever, Whooping Cough and Measles decimated the young. Polio, meningitis, encephalitis, pneumonia, viral and bacterial gastroenteritis killed and maimed thousands, while alcoholism, parturient complications and transmissible sexual diseases crippled and killed the adult. All, of course, had the same root causes - inadequate nutrition and starvation, poverty and unsanitary living conditions, overly crowded ghettos, lack of education, frequent mass episodes of unemployment and the gross, indecent and inhumane disparities in Victorian, imperialist Britain between the rich and increasingly prosperous and the horrifically poor and disadvantaged.

Conway must have been a man of impeccable principles to turn away from a potential life amongst privilege in order to administer to the ever so needy.

John O'Hara and Thomas Flood led the local Catholic Union committees. J.M. Nellis and Joseph O'Shaughnessy were founder members of the St Aloysius Association. James Quillan and William McKillop were leading figures in the Irish National League in Glasgow, as were Hugh and Arthur Murphy.

However, one common denominator is evident in the political alignments of each and every one of Brother Walfrid's politically active visionaries - John Glass.

Brother Walfrid's Right Hand Man

The name of John Glass repeats itself throughout research into the creation of Celtic. Undoubtedly, Brother Walfrid was the architect, the instigator, the motivator and the conduit to all the facets that would come together. John Glass, however, was the master builder and the catalyst for it all to happen.

His importance should be recognised. John Glass was a joiner, a man with many contacts in the building trade and a son of Donegal. He was also, we are told, a man that could 'charm the birds down from the trees' such was his charisma. This charm and persuasiveness would be a highly useful tool in Celtic's formation, as Glass is widely acknowledged to be the man who persuaded a number of famous football players of the time to join the fledgling Club. A humanitarian and a meticulous organiser, Glass was also a leader of men, and specifically a dignified and highly respected leader of the Irish Catholic community. John Glass was THE politician sitting at the round table deliberating the creation of Celtic. Glass was later described by Willie Maley as the man 'to whom the Club owes its existence.'

Ferguson and Glass organised several political rallies at which Michael Davitt addressed the Highland crofters. The question must therefore be asked: did the name 'Celtic' originate from this popular political influence of the day, and did Brother Walfrid and John Glass see in this name a method to celebrate Irish-ness, symbolise Irish-ness, yet simultaneously join hands with Scottish Celts? After all, historically speaking, the peoples of Ireland and Scotland were one and the same - Celts!

Opium For The Masses

It has frequently been said that religion, and indeed religious divisions cultivated by the ruling establishment, is 'opium for the masses.' What better way to preoccupy the working man, resplendent in his poverty, than to turn the object of his anger, not to those that are factually responsible for his predicament, but towards a fellow working man who is perceived as being 'different'.

Scotland in the 19th Century was, undeniably, the most Protestant country in Europe. Consequently, the Irish immigrants were seen as being alien by the endemic Scots and this prejudice was deliberately reinforced by the Middle Classes, the Ruling Classes, the aristocracy and the Presbyterian Church. Indeed, the Irish were alienated by the Scots by customs, nationality, politics, religion and status. It was, as Tom Campbell and Pat Woods described, 'cultural apartheid.'

Yet, the Irish and the Scots working classes had two things in common: the mutual fight for survival and a love of football. Brother Walfrid had, for some time, been aware of the profound popularity of the sport of football. Indeed, he had himself organised many games to provide funds for the 'Penny Dinners', and with considerable success too.

Edinburgh Hibernian was the team that his Irish Catholic flock was more than happy to pay to see, and Brother Walfrid recognised both this and the fact that Edinburgh Hibernian had become a symbol of Irish-ness, culture, religion and success in Scotland. It was a potent and powerful mix that Brother Walfrid would soon learn could be harnessed for a multitude of community benefits.

On February 12th 1887, Edinburgh Hibernian won the Scottish Cup, the country's premier and most coveted trophy, by defeating Dumbarton 2:1 at Hampden Park, Glasgow. The triumph was celebrated joyously by Irishmen throughout Scotland and, indeed, the scenes of jubilation in Glasgow were a match for those in Leith, Edinburgh.

This, then, was the power of football and also the symbolism of success for the Irish community. Edinburgh Hibernian were feted as the victors by Glasgow's Irish and the triumphant team was taken to St Mary's Hall in the Calton district of Glasgow to receive the spoils of jubilant victory. Amongst the rapturous throng were Brother Walfrid and John Glass. Dr John Conway led the speeches in praise of Edinburgh Hibernian, the gathering sang 'God Save Ireland' and John McFadden, the Hibernian's secretary, was so moved by the warmth of the reception and the fervour of the hospitality that he, perhaps jokingly, suggested that his hosts should 'go and do likewise'!

Brother Walfrid accepted the gauntlet of the challenge. After all, if Edinburgh could produce a successful Irish football team then surely Glasgow could do likewise, given the far greater Irish population in Glasgow.

However, Brother Walfrid would have been more than aware of the numerous Irish Catholic sides that had tried and failed in recent years to establish themselves in the Glasgow area. He would know the names well - Erin, Columba, Harp, Emerald, Hibernian and, yes, apparently even a Celtic or two. These club deaths were by no means the preserve of Catholic Parishes.