Books – Malcolm MacDonald – Forgotten Star/Rionnag Chaillte (2013)

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Details

Title: Forgotten Star/Rionnag Chaillte: The Untold Story of Former Celtic, Kilmarnock, Brentford and Scotland Great Malcolm MacDonald
Author: Alex O’Henley / Ailig O’Henley
Published: 5 Oct 2013
Player Homepage: Malcolm MacDonald
Note: Book written & released in both English and Scottish Gaelic (possibly a first).

Synopsis

A new book charting the life of a Celtic Football Club legend from South Uist is set to be launched this month. Written by South Uist football journalist Alex O’ Henley, ‘Forgotten Star/Rionnag Chailte’ tells the story of Malcolm MacDonald, widely considered one of the most gifted individuals to have played for the Glasgow team. Malcolm, better known to his contemporaries as Calum or Malky, was born in Glasgow in 1913.

His father and mother, from Locheynort and South Boisdale respectively, had relocated the family from South Uist to Garngad in pursuit of employment. From there began a journey that would lead Malcolm to the top of Scottish football in the 1930s.

Possessing seemingly limitless versatility, he would play in every outfield position except goalkeeper for Celtic, scoring 58 goals for the first team, and lifting the Empire Exhibition Cup in 1938. Malcolm also held the distinction of being one of the few men to score a hat-trick in an Old Firm league encounter.

Malcolm’s playing career was interrupted by the Second World War. However, he played for the Scottish national team against England three times during the conflict, including a game at Wembley in 1941.

Before the game, Malcolm, along with the rest of the team, met Prime Minister Winston Churchill. A photograph of Malcolm shaking hands with Churchill is included in the new book, one of many photographs accompanying the biography. At the end of the war, Malcolm signed as a player for Kilmarnock. Later he moved to England, playing for Brentford, before returning to Kilmarnock as manager for the first of two spells in charge.

During his first term as Killie boss, he would lead the club to the first division after several years in the second tier. Following a period in charge of Brentford in England, Malcolm returned to Kilmarnock where he would take the team to the semi-final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, a forerunner to the present Europa League. In 1966, Malcolm served as caretaker manager of the Scottish national team for two games. Malcolm died in 1999, aged 85.

He had maintained a close connection with his native South Uist throughout his life, holidaying in the islands as a child and again frequently following his retirement. Speaking to Am Pàipear, author of ‘Forgotten Star/Rionnag Chailte’ Alex O’Henley said: “I have been working on this since last autumn, interviewing people who remember Malcolm, searching for old newspaper articles and photographs. The book required a lot of research, as this is a story that has never been told before. “Malcolm was remarkable in that he was considered so immensely talented, able to play in so many positions. Jack McGinn, a former Celtic chair and Scottish Football Association president, referred to him as ’the greatest player I have ever seen’. “He was also quite pioneering. For instance, he underwent surgery to repair ligament damage on one of his knees in the mid 1930s.

This was unheard of at the time and considered quite dangerous due to the unavailability of antibiotics. However, Malcolm recovered from the procedure and returned to the top of his game afterwards. “So it is a really interesting biography and it has been a big project. It is also quite personal, given the connection to South Uist.” Published by the Islands Book Trust, ‘Forgotten Star/Rionnag Chailte’ is notable for being the first bilingual sport biography. Both English and Gàidhlig versions of the text are included in the one volume, along with a wide selection of photographs from Malcolm’s life and career.

The book will be formally launched at Celtic Park on 11th October and the Royal National Mòd, held this year in Paisley, where Malcolm attended school and was first selected for Celtic, on 17th October.

A further local launch in Uist is also being discussed at present. Anyone wishing to find out more about the book, the launch, or how to access a copy, can contact the Islands Book Trust on 01851 880 737 or Alex O’ Henley at alexohenley@hotmail.com.

Review

Review by The Shamrock
(http://theshamrockglasgow.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/book-review-forgotten-star-alex-ohenley/)

He may have been the most skilful Celtic player of all time. Many supporters back in the day certainly thought so and Bob Crampsey, one of Scottish football’s greatest historians, described him as “a synonym for grace … blessed – or perhaps cursed – with almost an excess of talent … above all the purist’s footballer.”

Malky MacDonald was born 100 years ago this year. To celebrate the centenary of a true Celtic great, the broadcaster and journalist Alex O’Henley has written a book which tells the story of his Island background, his Garngad upbringing, his incredible football career on and off the pitch – which saw him become Scotland manager – and the character of a man fondly remembered for his generosity of spirit in what is an often unforgiving work environment.

As Malky was no ordinary footballer, this is no ordinary football book. For a start it is written in two languages, English and Gaelic, reflecting both the author and his subject’s roots in South Uist. In addition, the book’s delightful design and layout and the extensive range of largely unseen photographs (mostly provided by Malky’s remaining family) mark it out as something special, a fine achievement by the small, independent publisher, the Islands Book Trust. The striking image of Malky on the cover is an excellent taster of the quality of the pictures inside. There are few Celtic books that would grace a coffee table the way that this does.

There is no question of style sacrificing substance though. The author, known to Celtic supporters from his stint as a presenter on Celtic TV and more recently as a BBC Alba match commentator who has been UEFA’s Scottish football correspondent since 2004, tells the engaging tale of how Malky (or Calum as he was known to family and team-mates) shot to fame in the Hoops and established a reputation as one of the most versatile Celts of all time. In one week in 1932 he went from playing for the school team to making his debut in the Celtic first team at Firhill – scoring two goals into the bargain!

He spent thirteen years at Celtic, working under the club’s famed first manager Willie Maley – with whom he had an intriguing relationship – and was an integral figure in one of Celtic’s most famous forward lines: Delaney, MacDonald, Crum, Divers and Murphy. It was this spearhead that thrust Celtic to glory in the club’s golden anniversary season, winning the league title and upsetting the odds to overcome the best that English football had to offer to win the Empire Exhibition Cup – playing some of the finest attacking football in the club’s history.

Malky was a goal scorer of some renown to boot – as the Rangers defence of season 1938/9 could testify as they had the best view possible of Malky’s hat-trick in a historic 6-2 victory, one newspaper reporting that the goals ‘were all of the type that revealed the football master.’

Malky experienced some difficult times as a Celt, losing over a full season at his prime due to injury, and watching on as the club failed to make any positive adjustments to the wartime era, letting a wonderful team simply dissolve away. He was 32 when he left the club but he continued playing at Kilmarnock then Brentford before going on to manage both clubs. His adventures with Killie in Europe will come as quite a surprise to younger fans, especially the story of their semi-final battle in the UEFA Fairs Cup against Leeds United the night before Celtic became European Champions in Lisbon.

The author has done well to bring a real personal dimension to the Malky MacDonald story principally through the recollections of family and friends as well as individuals such as former Celtic chairman Jack McGinn, Celtic historian Pat Woods and Terry Dick, the son of Glasgow comedian and original singer of ‘The Celtic Song’ Glen Daly, for whom Malky was a genuine hero.

Fifty years after his greatest triumph in football Malky had something of a starring role in the club’s Centenary documentary made in 1988 in which his love of both Celtic and football was firmly evident. It was during his interviews for that documentary that he declared that “Celtic is not just a club, it is a heritage.” This book is a wonderful addition to that heritage from an unusual (and overlooked) Celtic perspective. Malky MacDonald is no longer a forgotten star.

The Shamrock rating: 8/10

Product Details

• Hardcover: 150 pages
• Publisher: The Islands Book Trust (5 Oct 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1907443541
• ISBN-13: 978-1907443541

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