the hand of god?
part 3

As an indication of the margins between longevity of life for a fledgling football club and inauspicious demise in a pauper's grave, one needs only look at the names of the clubs that registered with the Scottish Football Association on August 21st 1888: Glasgow Celtic Football and Athletic Club, Champfleurie and Adventurers of Edinburgh, Leith Harp, Balaclava Rangers from Oban, Temperance Athletic of Glasgow, Whifflet Shamrock and Britannia of Auchinleck. Brother Walfrid and his associates would come to ponder the mechanics required for a successful launch and, of course, a sustainable flight.

The objectives were, however, clear enough: the funding of charities in Glasgow's East End, notably Brother Walfrid's 'Penny Dinners'; a focus, an identity, a symbolism for the Irish Catholic population where a successful football club could and would sustain the morale of an otherwise frequently demoralised people; a route to health and fitness for the young men of the area and a method to keep them distracted from alcohol; a way to combat, through self-finance, the influence of the Presbyterians in the East End and, perhaps most importantly of all, a symbol of hope when around them there was so much despair. But, how?

Gentlemen, Your Attention, Please!

On the afternoon of Sunday November 6th, 1887, a meeting to constitute the formation of the Glasgow Celtic Football and Athletic Club was called to order by John Glass. Through arduous discussions and, at times, heated debates, the pivotal and crucial decisions had been made that would cement the structure of Celtic. The choices were wise, indeed. Initially, the local parishes of St. Mary's, St Andrew's and St Alphonsus' had been involved, but the 'mother parish' of St Mary's had been the driving force and, consequently, some disgruntled individuals departed the scene, no doubt disillusioned by the abandonment of the principles of the template for such a venture, Edinburgh Hibernian.

Edinburgh Hibernian was an organisation with the temperance movement at its core. Celtic was not to be that. Brother Walfrid, John Glass, Pat Welsh et al would realise the fundamental importance of Celtic being managed with business acumen and financial expertise in order to survive and sustain itself during what could be a troubled birth, a precarious childhood and even a fraught adolescence.

Only adulthood - a long way off - would provide a modicum of comfort. So, why exclude the monies of the License Trade when that money could be used for the benefit of the Club? And, with such a partnership (albeit with the demon drink), immediate funds and employment (although, in some cases in name only) could be found to attract football players to Celtic - all amateurs, of course, though their expenses would not fool even the most average of accountants!

Edinburgh Hibernian also operated a Catholic only employment policy. This exclusivity would be disregarded by the founding fathers of Celtic - a bold and courageous move, given the prejudices of the era, and one that would be embraced for ever more by Celtic.

Willie Maley, Celtic's manager for over forty years, summarised this fundamental of a non-sectarian Celtic when he later said: 'It is not his creed nor his nationality which counts -it's the man himself.'

Indeed, Maley would openly boast of the Protestants, Hindus, Jews and Muslims that had been - and were - in the employ of Celtic, though in reality the Club was, at its roots, Catholic and Irish, proudly and justifiably so. This non-sectarian fundamentalism had the fingerprints of John Glass' politics all over it and, in fact, was the principle that set Celtic apart, from the outset. When one considers the undeniable temptation to be exclusivist in the face of such provocation - prejudice and bigotry were the norm - it was a brave, indeed socialist and humanitarian, move and one that paved the way for the likes of John Thomson, Jock Stein, Danny McGrain, Kenny Dalglish and, yes, Henrik Larsson, not to mention the non-Catholic Tims that would be attracted to the Celtic Cause.

Of course, there were voices of dissent and attempts were made to rewrite Celtic's constitution so that 'only the right sort' could be employed by and play for Celtic. Such malcontents were especially evident when, in 1897, Celtic became 'Celtic Football and Athletic Company Limited'. One such breakaway formed the short-lived Glasgow Hibernian. The dissenters lost, however, and Celtic is culturally wealthier as a result.