Celtic in Ireland

Firstly, let me welcome you to this new venture of mine. To give you a brief background I'm a passionate Celtic fan who has recently graduated in communications. With the lack of job opportunity, what better way to start than to write about my beloved Celtic.

As I struggle to think of the first Celtic topic to write about, I think about my own experience with the club. Originally from a border county in Ireland, I found myself born into a Celtic family. My father having been a frequent traveler to Paradise, like his father before him. I attended my first game in 1998. If I recall correctly sitting in the Lisbon Lions stand, looking over at a half finished Jock Stein stand. By the age of 13 I was fortunate enough to be a season ticket holder, which I held for 5 years. Long day trips to Glasgow once every 2 weeks. They were long days for a young fella like me. Get out of bed at 5am for the trip to Belfast, ferry to Stranraer before the long haul to Glasgow. The shear scale of buses from Ireland on these trips shocked me at first.

Which got me thinking. I watch a considerable amount of football; from English football to Brazilian football. Is there a more passionate support than Celtic? In my opinion no, especially not in Ireland. I concede to my English supporting friends, yes, there's probably more Liverpool & Man Utd fans on this island, but in terms of passion, Celtic are unrivaled. I remember watching a Celtic reserve game last season over an English Premiership match and that's not me gloating, that's the Celtic fan mentality. Celtic first, Celtic reserves second. I also remember years ago Football Focus having a special report on two West Ham Utd fans from France travelling to their games week in week out. I remember hearing phrases like "proper football fans" and "unbelievable dedication." I wonder what their reaction would be watching 30 Irish bus loads driving through Girvan at 10am.

I've read quite a lot of Celtic blogs in my time, the majority of which were written by a Scotsman. Hopefully this blog can provide an Irish perspective of our famous club. North men, south men, comrades all.