There is a saying that you should never meet your heroes.
Well, I have to demur.
That’s because on a sunny day in Malahide in 2011, I finally chatted with a man my grandfather and his pals had discussed as I was securely held on the crush barrier in the old enclosure.
It was the mid-1960s, and the auld fellas discussed a young halfback called John Clark.
They were all of an age to be able to reminisce about Jimmy McGrory, Patsy Gallagher and Charlie Tully.
Two years later, the same player subjected to wizened assessment at Paradise would utterly stroll it at Stadio Nacional.
When I was introduced to John Clark, Neil Lennon was putting his lads through a frenzied pass and move exercise.
The Bhoys were in town for a pre-season tournament.
The day before, I had been at the AVIVA for the initial presser.
Clearly, Celtic and Inter in the lineup had deliberately elicited memories of that day in May 1967.
My folks wouldn’t even countenance nine-year-old me making the trip, but an uncle by marriage took my scarf.
The club official who had driven me up from Dublin introduced me to John Clark as a relative of Jimmy Gribben.
In a surreal moment, the man who would always be a Lion from Lisbon was interested in speaking to one of the Grib’s kith and kin.
As I explained, Jimmy and my grandmother were first cousins, and we lived around the corner from them in Baillieston. I thought that you should always believe people when they reveal themselves.
This man, who was chatting to me that day, was the epitome of the genuinely humble hero.
Neil Lennon’s Celtic ensemble was a veritable international brigade when they took on their old Italian foes in Dublin:
Zaluska; Cha (Matthews 67) K. Wilson, Loovens (Stokes 60), Izaguirre; Brown, Kayal, Ledley, Mulgrew; Maloney (Hooper 60); Samaras (McCourt 76)
Not Used: Cervi, Twardzik, Majstorovic, Wanyama, Murphy.
It was another epoch when a team of home Bhoys became champions of Europe.
As the Inter manager, Helenio Herrera Gavilán, conceded, it was “a victory for sport”.
Lisbon was also a triumph for a socially excluded community that had expressed its existence through Celtic FC.
Alan Morrison of the Huddle Breakdown recently wrote that John Clark was his MOTM at Lisbon.
That will do for me.
I’m now the age of the auld fellas in the Parkhead enclosure.
One by one, my heroes have passed, but just like their boss, they’ll always be immortal.
Another Lion sleeps tonight.
I was lucky to have two Celtic mad uncles who started taking me to Celtic Park around season 64/65 if memory serves me well. The old rangers end was their preferred part of the ground. When big Jock arrived and transformed things they were not shy in telling me how lucky I was as things were not always as good as the next decade would prove to be. John Clark was a massive part of that success and a player I admired greatly. A Celtic man through and through, he will be remembered fondly by thousands of Celtic fans around the world.
RIP Luggy 💚 🤍 🧡 🙏😪
Our generation was blessed to see that team.
My dad took me to see the Lisbon Lions at Parkhead as a young boy and it is etched in my memory still. As Secretary of the Chapelhall Shamrock Celtic Supporters Club it was a great Honour to meet John Clark as he was made Honorary President. As Sweeper he was Billy McNeill’s bodyguard in that legendary team and he still exuded that quiet strength and inherent dignity few footballers possess today. A remarkable individual he will never be forgotten by Celtic fans the World over.
If Pele tells you you’re good then you probably are.
A wonderful humble man and a fantastic friend to all ,
He will be very sadly missed. But never forgotten ☘️☘️☘️
A humble man who quietly went about his business with precise expertise. When the Lisbon Lions are mentioned JC – The Brush – doesn’t always get mentioned in the same reverential terms as some of the others but he was critical to that lineup and a major key to its success. A true Celtic great!
R.I.P. John Clark. His captain came calling.