Today I should have been in Bun Cranncha.
However, the war against Covid19 means that in remembering the dead, we must first protect the living.
Therefore, the decision to move the commemoration to the capital makes sense.
In fairness, they seem to have done the day justice.
Some commemorations will have to wait for now.
When Celtic return to action they will also mark this day.
As regular readers will know I have been writing for over a decade about the lack of a Famine memorial in Glasgow.
For me, it was a very telling absence in the public space that indicated how modern Scotland had abnormalized itself apropos the Irish diaspora experience.
I was convinced that Celtic FC could be a significant player in pushing that project forward.
Quite simply, without the demographic tsunami of An Gorta Mór, there would have been no Irish community in Glasgow of any size.
Although the Parkhead club was open to all since day one the ethnicity of Celtic was never in doubt.
That is the reason I wrote this piece for the club’s newspaper ten years ago.
When the local authority in Glasgow was finally pushed to do something about the issue, they made a historically illiterate mess of it.
Consequently, the Irish community in the city decided to build their own!
It was a huge undertaking, and they are nearly there.
The Celtic jerseys with the Famine Commemoration badge will be auctioned to raise funds for that monument which will be built in the grounds of St Mary’s in the Calton.
Of course, that church is the birthplace of Scotland’s biggest club.
For the troubled times that we are in physical commemorations have to be either curtailed or put on hold.
However, forgetting is not an option.
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We Won the League Again, Fly the Flag, Fly the Flag 😀
Thats it league called as is, here we go 10 IAR.
This…
https://spfl.co.uk/news/ladbrokes-premiership-and-spfl-season-201920-cur
McCoist has a brass neck. When I read the headlines with McCoist and shambolic in the same sentence I thought it was an insight into his managerial time at Ibrox and not his criticism of the SPFL.
He’s also been a go to man for those arguing what the actual amount of the bill due to HMRC was, as if a reduced figure could have been handled by the club.
He’s either unaware, or more likely chose to ignore, the massive failure of the £50m Rangers share issue which was underwritten by Murray’s companies and was part of the massive debt that HBOS had to write off when Murray’s then empire crashed and burned.
It’s a stain on Glasgow that nothing has been done to recognise the huge migration of Irish folk who have arrived in Scotland, many of whom have settled in Glasgow and the surrounding areas.
Every other country in the world that welcomed the Irish immigrants is happy to celebrate St Patrick’s day but there is no official Paddy’s day parade in Glasgow to. celebrate Ireland’s patron saint whilst over the marching season we have to endure an endless procession of bigots parading around the city wearing their bigotry on their sleeves.
Of course the majority of them are unaware that in the context of that period of history the Vatican funded Billy’s Dutch army!
I’m proud of Celtic Football Club. Proud that it is a club of decency, sporting integrity and non sectarian. I’m proud that my club has never forgotten it’s roots but equally has never used it’s roots as a justification for exclusion. Hail. Hail. 9 in a row here we go 🏴🇮🇪
In the spirit of looking after the living and given the subject matter of your post, I wonder if you would allow me to highlight the following website with which I have no official connection.
Basically, it costs less than £16.00 to feed a child for a year and 93pence in the pound goes to the charity. Do it for your heart or your ego either is fine.
https://www.marysmeals.org.uk/?pl=GB
All of Irish descent are remembering this day. We will never forget.
We remember with pride our ancestors who endured so much. Our pride in our football team is inextricably linked to our Irish history. More than a club and open to all.
If it was truly more than a Club then I suggest that it would be paying more than lip service to those that founded it.
I should think Brother Walfrid would have heaved at the concept that Celtic ended its financial Year with in excess of £30 million sat in the Bank with many thousands having to go to food banks in this day and age.
Celtic does do good work but in my opinion could be and should be doing more.
Whilst I am not suggesting that it runs at a loss I think running at such an excess is a slap in the face to those who started it.
It is my opinion Celtic should have put a monument or statue commemorating the famines and at no cost to those who contributed and continue to contribute more when asked?
I say famines because my own family having survived the Great Hunger were forced to leave Ireland during the wee famine that followed in the Mid to late 1800’s
As did others.
an Gorta Beag Is seldom spoke about and amazingly not even mentioned by most when referencing the diabolical effects of famine in Ireland.
Although hough not as physically devastating as the Great Hunger in terms of numbers dying psychologically it must have been devastating for those who had survived the first and stayed put.
Those who contrived to create the circumstances in Ireland should be eternally damned and it is right we should never forget what happened.
We should be forever in debt though to those who made Celtic and Hibernian for that matter a very visible reminder that out of so much tragedy came so much joy.
A joy we all share as Celts.
I would urge those who control matters at Celtic to perhaps take a Corporate step back and think about these things before they make the decisions that they do.
Celtic does not exist for you to make as much money from it as you can.
You cannot be lifting millions in Bonus or Pay whilst Simultaneously making decisions that hand out Thousands in donation and call that a justified,balanced approach.
It is an insult to Brother Walfrid and his memory.
I apologise if this upsets anyone reading this but It is something that does not sit comfortably with me.
It never has and never will.
HH
It hasn’t been said often enough or loudly enough.
Sad
I’ve forgot already.
Forgot what, idiot? Do you remember the day you all stood back and watch your club die, or have you forgotten that too?
Do you remember what lodge you’re in, ya brain-dead fuckwit.
Often I wish your apology for a club would just die so we could all piss on the grave. However just as often I hope it survives so arseholes like you can watch a class team win through skill and hard work all the things your old dead club cheated to win in their 140 year lifetime.
I want to watch your pain when we pass legally the 154 titles your old dead club cheated their way to.
I want to watch your pain when it finally dawns on you that your new eight year old club are, like their pathetic fans, still living in the past and claiming a history they don’t have.
Bet you haven’t forgotten the day your club got liquidated and died. The year was 2012 and it was well documented in all the rags. If you’ve conveniently forgotten, it’s not a problem, because we’ll remind you. 😂😂🍀🇮🇪💚👍
Aye! Regularly!!
My god, there are some halfwits on here. The clown called Charger and his merry band of imbeciles who know nothing about me but because I have the temerity to have an opinion of my own I’m a “brain dead fuckwit” and I apparently “watched my club die”.
A bit of info if your interested, my club has never died, it was founded in 1887 by Brother Walfrid to feed the poor and starving from the East End of Glasgow. I don’t think we need memorials to remind us of a famine 150 years ago, if anyone needs a reminder, take a walk along London Road to Celtic Park, that’s a memorial that says it all. Charger and his friends, stop jumping to conclusions, you’ll hurt yourself.