Books: Celtic – The Early Years (2015)

Details

Title: Celtic The Early Years
Author: Brendan Sweeney
Published: 29 Oct 2015

Synopsis

Celtic: The Early Years gives an in depth and comprehensive analysis of the circumstances surrounding the birth of Celtic Football Club, to it’s rise to the top of the Scottish game in less than five years. In overcoming all the odds to win the club’s first Treble in 1892, it was a feat that shook Scottish football to its foundations.

Not only is it a detailed review of the earliest years of Celtic, it gives a supporter’s perspective, speaking from the heart on all the key events and the key individuals to an extent that has never been accomplished before covering the club’s infancy. The level of research carried out over years of study and the attention to detail is what makes this book stand out in 450 pages jam-packed with facts, primary source evidence to back up the various arguments made, as well as the accompanying pictures, which help to paint a clear picture of the early Celtic. Many unknown details, never presented before are unearthed, including a comprehensive study on the life of Brother Walfrid up to his departure from Celtic.

This book tells the untold story of the early Celtic, of the men who established the club, of the detailed circumstances that brought them together, of the original Celtic Park now largely forgotten and of the fairytale that is… Celtic Football Club.

“The author has provided us with an impressive review of the first four years of Celtic’s existence at the original Celtic Park, as well as the reasons behind our birth. It is an excellent read and I can thoroughly recommend the book to every Celtic fan.”
JIM CRAIG, LISBON LION

“Brilliant book and a real page turner. The rich events and dramatic challenges which followed that momentous decision in St Mary’s Hall to form a football club have never been documented so comprehensively, or entertainingly.”
PAUL BRENNAN, CELTIC QUICK NEWS

“This is the first ever book dedicated to examining the foundations and earliest years of Celtic Football Club. Reliant upon fascinating primary sources from the 1880 and ‘90s, it builds up an incredibly detailed picture of the men and motivations that brought Celtic into existence. It challenges a number of myths that have arisen – and presents evidence in a compelling manner. It is a ground-breaking debut book and a remarkable achievement driven by an obvious and deep-rooted affinity for Celtic which helps rather than hinders the incredible story that unfolds on its pages. If you thought you knew the history – think again!”

Review

(Review by The Shamrock Fanzine)
“Close your eyes for a minute and try to envisage your life without Celtic . . . What were the reasons behind our formation, what were the social conditions, who made it happen and how did it all come together?”

In over 450 detailed pages, those questions about how Celtic began and why are painstakingly answered in this book in a way that will change forever your view of this ‘Irish combination’ which went on to become famous throughout the world of football and beyond. 128 years of unbroken history is a remarkable achievement itself in the modern era and many of the reasons why Celtic became such an incredible success story are laid bare in this expertly researched book which focuses on the club’s infancy.

This is the first ever book dedicated to examine the foundations and earliest years of Celtic Football Club. Reliant upon fascinating primary sources from the 1880s and ‘90s, it builds up an incredibly detailed picture of the men and motivations that brought Celtic into existence. Glasgow in the 1880s was a city still coming to terms with the astonishing rise in population following the Great hunger of the 1840s which forced hundreds of thousands of Irish men, women and children to flee their homeland – the poorest of the poor making it only as far as Clydeside or Merseyside. The East End became the Irish ghetto in Glasgow and hunger, poverty and illiteracy were key motivating factors in the establishment of the Poor Children’s Dinner Tables by the headteachers of the Sacred Heart and St Mary’s Schools: Brothers Walfrid and Dorotheus.

More than those Marist Brothers were involved though and the identities and inspirations of those who turned the idea of a Glasgow Irish football club to support the Dinner Tables into reality are set out here. For the first time there is a truly detailed consideration of all the aspects – social, political, religious and sporting – which brought Celtic into being. And what a story it is as the picture unfolds of a group of men striving to make a difference and restore pride and a sense of identity to their community.

This book presents evidence in a compelling manner. Newspaper reports, first-hand accounts and original research are published in full to enable the reader to reach their own conclusions on many of the controversial issues surrounding Celtic’s foundation and first four seasons in operation. A real flavour of the times is conveyed along with fascinating insights.

Brother Dorotheus – originally from Dundee, headmaster of St. Mary’s School

This densely-packed book considers all these issues and much more. The wonderfully unique cover design, superb lay-out and over 70 photos and illustrations – many of which have lain unseen for decades – all combine to present an impressive and long-lasting testament to the birth and survival of our great football club. The author himself firmly sticks his colours to the mast on the key issues that arise. He unfailingly refers to Celtic as ‘we’ throughout, bringing his passion to the pages and explaining that what is revealed here is our story for we are Celtic: past, present and future. The author’s commitment to the Celtic cause is well-known as over the last two decades he has been involved with various supporter initiatives including the ground-breaking Celts for Change campaign, the Celtic Supporters Association, the Jungle Bhoys and the Celtic Graves Society. It is uplifting to see that kind of commitment channelled into this revelation of the true, gritty story behind Celtic’s birth and early development.

As is common with many football books of this size, the sale price is £19.99. The price is certainly merited here given the quality of the research work undertaken, the volume of materials explored and reproduced, as well as the impressive packaging and presentation. For many with an interest in Celtic that goes beyond the latest signing or sequence of results, this is a book they that will return to again and again. The stories of the early struggles, the heart-breaking conditions experience by the immigrant poor of the East End and the determined and committed individuals who drove the Celtic ‘project’ forward keep drawing the reader back. This grand old tome will be well worn, such is the range and interest of the topics and personalities explored – as well as their importance in shaping the club that now has a world-wide reputation.

When you take into account that this is the author’s first venture into publishing, your appreciation for his efforts becomes even keener. The tale that is woven here is inspiring, uplifting and challenging in equal measure. Much like the football club itself. ‘Celtic – The Early Years’ answers many questions that I had about how the club came into being and addresses a lot of previous uncertainties. The Celtic library is considerable and increasing regularly in size, especially with supporter-written books, yet this is one of the most informative works about the club I love that I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.

This is a ground-breaking debut book and a remarkable achievement driven by an obvious and deep-rooted affinity for Celtic which helps rather than hinders the incredible story that unfolds on its pages.

If you thought you knew the history – think again!

Hardback, 450 pages

CQN Books

The Shamrock rating: 9/10

Product Details

Links

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CELTIC; THE EARLY YEARS 1887-1892. BRENDAN SWEENEY
http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/celtic-the-early-years-1887-1892-brendan-sweeney/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
By CQN Magazine on 26th October 2015 Latest News

CQN BOOKS is delighted today to publish CELTIC; The Early Years by Brendan Sweeney (Celts For Change & Celtic Graves).

This absolutely beautiful new book gives an in depth and comprehensive analysis of the circumstances surrounding the birth of Celtic Football Club in the East End of Glasgow on 6th November 1887 in St Mary’s Hall, Calton to it’s rise to the top of the Scottish game in less than five years when it overcame all the odds to win the club’s first Treble in 1892, a feat that shook Scottish football to its foundation.

“The main object is to supply the east end conferences of the St Vincent de Paul Society, with funds for the maintenance of the “Dinner tables” of our needy children in the missions of St Mary’s, Sacred Heart and St Michael’s. Many cases of sheer poverty are left unaided through lack of means. It is therefore with this principal object that we have set afloat the Celtic and we invite you as one of our ever ready friends to assist in putting our new Park in proper working order for the coming football season”. CSMzSN_XAAAiIG_.jpg-large

Not only is it a detailed review of the birth and early years of the club, but it gives a supporter’s perspective, speaking from the heart on all the key events and the key individuals to an extent that has never been accomplished before covering the early years of the club. The level of research carried out over years of study and the attention to detail is what makes this book stand out in over 500 pages jam packed with facts, the evidence to back it up and the accompanying pictures, which help to paint the picture of the early Celtic.

Many unknown details, never presented before are unearthed, including a comprehensive study on the life of Brother Walfrid up to his departure from Celtic.

This is the story of a forgotten Celtic, in the original Celtic Park that the support helped to build, a community effort, the embryonic Celtic. This book tells of the “mushroom like” growth of the club, our many challenges on and off the park to establish our dream, to become accepted, our successes and our failures and all in a short four year spell that was to whet the appetite before we moved to the current Celtic Park in 1892. Similar to watching Celtic, this book has the ability to make you laugh and make you cry and whilst carrying that undying pride in being a member of the Celtic family, it also retains that admirable ability to laugh at our own expense too.

No stone has been left unturned in the search for the complete story of Celtic Football Club from 1887 to 1892 and as many direct quotes as possible are used in this book to give the reader the exact source of the information in the correct context, rather than having it paraphrased for you to come to the author’s conclusion. The author puts forward his own analysis of the evidence shown but the reader has the opportunity, and are indeed invited, to come to their own conclusion, taking into consideration all the facts presented.

Today we continue to live that dream but what sets us apart is the history, the Celtic story and it is our duty to cherish that history, the good days and the bad and to pass it on to future generations of Celtic supporters. In the beginning, we emerged against all the odds led by the men of vision on the Celtic Committee, and Brother Walfrid, who with a steely determination, a will to win and a humble charitable objective, wrote a new chapter in Scottish football.

This book tells the untold story of the early Celtic in great detail, of the men who established our club, of the detailed circumstances that brought them together, of the original Celtic Park and of the fairytale that is …CELTIC FOOTBALL CLUB.