Brian Dempsey

Celtic Board – Past | Celtic Board | Celtic Takeover | About Celtic

Name: Brian Dempsey
Director: 1990-1992
Ref: Biscuit Tin board member, then ousted which really kicked off the Sack the Board days
Note: Main person behind proposed move to Robroyston which was rejected

Brian Dempsey

Brian Dempsey, appointed to the board in 1990, alongside Michael Kelly, proposed a new complex for the club in the Robroyston district of Glasgow. However, he was to be opposed by Michael Kelly and Chris White, the largest shareholder in the club.

Forced off the board in a very public manner via a vote which made all the headlines, Dempsey was to prove to be a thorn in the board’s side, culminating in a takeover bid in 1992 which split the board. The same year the club announced plans for another new ground, this time at Cambuslang, to be completed by 1994. Yet two years later work still had not been started and it became apparent that the club was in severe financial trouble.

Dubbed by some as a martyr and hero, he was to prove to be quite a difficult character to assess. Unafraid to make public appearances criticising the board at Celtic supporter meetings (such as “Save our Celts“), go on the radio or do TV interviewers, he was a very visible character. Dempsey had some strong supporters in the press (in particular the highly sycophantic Gerry McNee) which helped him, but his support amongst the club supporters seemed to decline.

He had made announcements that he would put bids to the board for the takeover, and if it failed he would walk away. They never did put any bids forward and never did walk away. It was only the entrance of Fergus McCann that changed the whole game. Working with Fergus McCann and others, they put together the organisations to take over the club as it crumbled.

He had the great honour to be the one to announce at the steps of Celtic Park when the takeover was complete that “The Rebels have won!“. It was actually Fergus McCann who told Brian Dempsey what to say, so he should share in that moment, but it is Dempsey who is most recognised for the famous moment.

The bonhomie amongst the new board members wasn’t to last as Dempsey did not agree with McCann’s methods or plans, and very quickly was cut out, and walked away. Gerry McNee (journalist) was never afraid to bring his name up up and push for his return to the club at various points, but in truth the club did not need him. Fergus McCann was a success and Dempsey was left to the history books along with the old board. An ignominious end for him after his part in the takeover.

He never hid his frustrations with Fergus McCann in future interviews, but critics of Fergus McCann are now few and far between.

However, Brian Dempsey played his part to help bring down the old regime, and for the long-term benefit of the club he deserves our respect for that.

Links

• Celtic Takeover

Articles

• Revealed: Why It All Fell Apart Sunday Mirror, Dec 1, 2002
• Dempsey: Ten years ago the Fergus McCann revolution got under way Sunday Herald Feb 2004
• Dempsey – Celtic View ‘attack’

Podcast

• The Celticunderground Podcast 150 – Brian Dempsey Talks The People’s Club, The Old Board And Fergus McCann

Quotes

“Celtic is a love affair that we take to our deaths.”
Brian Dempsey 1991

“The game is over. The ‘Rebels’ have won.”
Brian Dempsey 1994

“Fergus did his own thing – he ignored a great deal of things I had to say.”
Brian Dempsey 2018

“Mr McCann is taking the club in the wrong direction. It is because of this that I have decided I will not be back at Celtic as part of the team for the future.”
The aforementioned Brian Dempsey, also in 1994

Newspaper articles on “Save Our Celts”

After experiencing at first hand the determination of the board to do things their way.Dempsey, 44, was co-opted as a director of the club in May 1990, along with Michael Kelly.It was a real break with tradition which was seen at the time as a far-sighted move to help the Parkhead club increase revenue and boost their image in the business community.Property developer Dempsey’s company had enjoyed a turnover of £20 million in the financial year prior to his walking into the boardroom.Dempsey was from outwith the family dynasties which had controlled Celtic – he even had an executive box at Ibrox – but his commitment to the club was never in doubt.

However, five months later, he found himself booted out in bizarre circumstances.A mere five minutes before the club’s AGM in October 1990, Dempsey was told that Michael Kelly and major shareholder Chris White intended to oppose his ratification to the board.White said at the time there was a “fundamental difference of opinion at board level as to how the club could be kept at the top level in British football”.

Where Celtic should play their football was central to that difference of opinion.Dempsey felt Celtic should relocate in another part of Glasgow.And he had a piece of prime land, at the edge of the Stepps bypass, which he was keen to offer for a new stadium.It was also felt his idea that Celtic should become a public limited company had not gone down well with the men at the top.Fellow-director Jimmy Farrell became embroiled in the row and claimed White had tried to axe him, too, because he backed Dempsey.Fans were furious at the boardroom coup and began a campaign for change.Dempsey, whose late father was the Labour MP for Coatbridge and Airdrie, became their unofficial champion and spoke at the inaugural meeting of the Save Our Celts group in February 1991.He said the board should stop their “childish petulance” and forget the idea that anyone who dares to criticise them is creating mischief.And later he withdrew thousands of pounds in sponsorship to the club.

Since then he has been a major player on the sidelines as the grass-roots campaign to get rid of the board gained momentum.In March 1992, along with financial expert David Low and Canadian Jim Doherty, he led a successful fight by rebel shareholders to prevent Farrell and fellow-director Tom Grant being booted off the board.Dempsey ridiculed the board’s plans to build a super stadium at Cambuslang, calling it “worse than EuroDisney,” and encouraged fans to boycott matches.He told a supporters rally: “You have the power – use it. You have the courage – don’t be afraid.” When Scots-born tycoon Fergus McCann came from Canada to join the power struggle, Dempsey teamed up with him.

The McCann-Dempsey consortium launched an £18 million bid for control of Celtic.But a voting pact of five directors stopped them in their tracks.The pact prevented the “rebels” mustering enough votes to push through their financial lifeline.The plug had been pulled. Dempsey and McCann walked away.But they were never too far away from the action.

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