Menu Close

Celtic Diary Thursday May 5: New Reality TV Show Planned.

In an interview with ESPN, the sports network it’s good to tell your mates you have, but you never watch, Roy Keane was asked about the Celtic job.

“I’m not trying to cop out but I don’t look too far ahead,” 

“I think what will be will be, things will take care of themselves. I believe the man upstairs will look after me one way or the other. 

“My only focus is on Ireland this summer. 

I’ve never been one to worry about contract situations or if a club is interested in me; I’m not one for touting myself, I don’t go applying for jobs. I’m not that busy kind of personality. 

“If Martin O’Neill decides to stay on and he wants me involved, we’ll have a good chat about it. I’m loving the role, and grateful for the position. ..

“The only time you know if you’re interested is if you’re asked. This idea of speculation about other clubs. There’s always club jobs coming up, there will be in the next few weeks, but until someone asks you that question, ‘would you take that job?’ there’s no question to answer. 

“I’ve never been fearful about what’s coming around the corner for me, never. I think all that will be taken care of if I give 100pc to whatever job I’m in. At this moment my focus is on working with Martin and the players and the staff and making sure we go to the Euros and make Ireland proud and everything else will fall into place after that. I’m open minded, you don’t know where the next challenge is coming from until someone asks you.” 

The man upstairs he is referring to will be Denis O’Brien, the billionaire  at the IFA and Celtic. Things will take care of themselves, but for now let me get on with the job i have, is pretty much the gist of that.

Or could we do something different….?

I’ve an idea.

Instead of hiring one manager, we hire a dozen. Starting the very day the pre season kicks in.

From big names to newcomers to fans, get them in.

They all turn up, and on live tv,  Celtic TV, we get to see how they operate.

With highlights sold to Channel 4. Or 5, or Sky, this would give us a real outlook on candidates, a voice in how he is chosen and raise a fortune for the club via premium phone lines and advertising.

Then , for the next twelve weeks viewers can vote one guy off until there is just one remaining, and he gets to be manager until next season, when we repeat the whole process.

And before you criticise it as a non starter, we could get the players to cook something, put a camera in the doctors office and film a few in custody and we’ve pretty much covered everything thats on telly in one show.

 Especially if we can do cut aways to the bailiffs arriving at ibrox a few yars ago.

All of that is ridiculous, of course, and the club will no doubt be more than way ahead of the rest of us with the next appointment.

Surprisingly, it seems they are also on the ball with Resolution 12.

Things are happening, and everyone seems quite content with how its going.

So far.

It would be nice if the club communicated more with the fans on this, but at least they are doing something.

I’ll let you know if I hear anything else.

Or you let me know if you hear anything.

The now annual new kit is here-complete with new sponsor…

At least they haven’t messed with the hoops, no wee fancy lines, no gimmicky trims and so on, so thats something.

Though the sponsors  logo leaves a little to be desired.

It looks more like a teacher has graded the effort, and it should say ” must try harder ” next to it.

Perhaps they mean the team after watching for the last few months.

We have had a glimpse of the away top template for 2018, however, another first for Etims;

New Balance, desperate to avoid making an arse of it like they did last year, described the kit.

Richard Wright, General Manager of New Balance Football said: “This new kit combines the history of Celtic with the modern advancements of New Balance’s research and development.

“With our NB Dry technology, the players can rely on the fact they will be comfortable on pitch while they are competing at the highest levels.”

The kit has been developed using NB Dry technology, a moisture wicking fabric that keeps players cool and dry while wicking sweat from the body, making it fast drying.

The shorts feature a classic all-white design trimmed with gold piping, paired with socks in white with a green gradiant Hoop.

To offer added support to the ankle, the socks have built in comfort zones while the footbed has been developed with polypropylene to alleviate excess moisture when the foot makes contact with the boot.

The goalkeeper kit is constructed with engineered Flex fabric zones to offer a greater range of movement, these zones are identified by contract heat transfers.

The striking Toxic colour design with black shoulder Flex panels is complemented with Toxic colour shorts and socks.

Richard Wright, there, talking like a right dick.

Choosing the right word is very important when promoting a product.

Toxic, in any circumstance, is not the right word.

And ” Moisture Wicking ” ?

Why promote a product using a word which no-one understands ?

“Hey, maw, I know the new selick top costs a fortune but you get all your moisture wicked. “

Onto a winner there.

I had to find out…every day is a school day here you know..

Moisture wicking fabric is a kind of fabric that is commonly used in workout clothing and sportswear because the material is designed to pull moisture away from the skin. As such, the fabric draws sweat and perspiration off of the skin and out to the exterior of the fabric. It is much easier for the moisture to evaporate on the surface of the fabric than when it is trapped between the garment and the skin. Moisture wicking fabric is popular for the construction of workout clothes because it keeps people comfortable while they are exercising. However, moisture wicking fabric is sometimes used in the construction of casual and business casual clothes for people who need to look professional and put-together even in hot and humid conditions. 

Ah right, if you get all sweaty-unlikely for most of Celtic’s players-the top draws the sweat off. Which, er , helps.

Thats innovative, and well worth the cost.

It keeps people comfortable and makes them look professional.

In addition to keeping people comfortable while they are working out, moisture wicking fabric can also be important in the prevention of hypothermia. When people exercise outdoors in cold weather or participate in winter sports, they have to wear warm clothing, often in layers. Once they begin exercising, however, their bodies heat up and they may begin to perspire. In low temperatures, it can be dangerous for sweat to collect on the skin. 

And it helps to prevent hypothermia.

Fantastic. Buy one for your granny.

But a season book for the old lady is out of bounds. For senior citizens there’s an increase of £70, with no prospect of a partial refund if you don’t buy the new top and catch hypothermia in the winter.

You’d think the club would do a sort of pay as you go for them, sort of monthly renewals. Harsh, but I’m the sort of guy who always buys the over seventies a book of short stories, just in case.

In other news, the latest wunderkid to be linked with the Wunderteam ( 54 titles in four years, easily the greatest achievement in world football )  is 16 year old Matthew Knox, of Livingston;

Rangers target Matthew Knox: I’m a Celtic fan and my hero is Henrik Larsson … but that wouldn’t stop me signing on at Ibrox 

I’m a Celtic fan, it’s a bit bizarre when I pick up the paper and see my name linked with Rangers but who you support shouldn’t matter when it comes to which club you play for. My family are all Hearts fans and it doesn’t bother them that I play for Livingston and support Celtic.

“The number one reason I’m a Celtic fan is down to one man and that’s Henrik Larsson.

“When I was aged about five or six-years-old I used to watch him play and I loved him.

“I went to the games to watch him and he’s my ultimate hero.


Larsson left Celtic on the 30 June 2004. Knox was born on the  December 1999. 

He was four years and seven months old when Larsson left.

Most people can’t even remember where they lived when they were four and a half-wothout asking their mum, anyway.

His family were all Hearts fans, so of course they took the little fellow through to Celtic Park every week.

Or, did he go on his own…?

 

The Record have surpassed even themselves with that story.

I’m waiting for them to print the story i sent them about the new Celtic club doctor…

ca. 1875, [tintype portrait of a butcher]

Or Peter Lawwells new house…

Entrance Gateway to the Taj Mahal - Agra, c.1863-1866

Incidentally, El cormaco has asked me to point out that he is a tall chap.

Here he is with me on the way to a the Milan game a couple of years ago.

Robert Wadlow, the tallest man known to have lived (2.72 metres or 8 feet 11 inches) with his father, Harold Wadlow (1.82 metres or 6 feet 0 inches)

 

Charlie Saiz is back on the ball with his photos, and Susan Murphy is back on the ball with her comment…

Todays picture, they tell me, is of Miss Scary Uk Hattie Madders, who won the title back in 1883.

Unless you know better…

Winner of the Most Scary Woman in the UK award in 1883 was Hattie 'The Mad Hatter' Madders

0 0 votes
Article Rating
89 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Apricale
7 years ago

She ain’t tough, she’s just a big girl’s blouse.

BondiBrian
7 years ago
Reply to  Apricale

One of yer better blogs Ralph, funny. Once again cheers for the tiem & effort you put into it, it’s appreciated far away in Oz.

HAIL HAIL N aw that.

Charlie Saiz
7 years ago

Caption: Thanks to Nae Balances revolutionary moisture wicking fabric Effie McClumfie didny sweat much furra fat lass

Puffin1967
7 years ago
Reply to  Charlie Saiz

Superb Charlie….

mike
7 years ago

Hi Ralphy, Fabric wicker,in my day they were called raincoats,efter all the moaning and the groaning on yesterdays diary all i have to say to the other numpties on here is,
A TELT YEZ,aka Keano and Res 12,youz of little faith.
Mikey always gets it wrong,so what who cares.

Caption Susan gets ready to defend her caption title,
Well done Ralphy.

mike
7 years ago
Reply to  mike

Monti,charlie and jimmybee,i was looking back and read your posts from this morning,well said all three and please repost,that would be greatly appreciated.
Well said Bonny Bhoys.

jimmybee
7 years ago
Reply to  mike

There you go Mike,
As Ireland finally recognises her Heroes of 16, let them not forget that 35 years ago today,a young Irish Soldier lay down his life for the cause of justice and Freedom.
Bobby Sands I salute you and that of your 9 brave companions.
May your brave soul rest in peace.
There’s an inner thing in every man,
Do you know this thing my friend?
It has withstood the blows of a million years,
And will do so to the end.
It was born when time did not exist,
And it grew up out of life,
It cut down evil’s strangling vines,
Like a slashing searing knife.
It lit fires when fires were not,
And burnt the mind of man,
Tempering leadened hearts to steel,
From the time that time began.
It wept by the waters of Babylon,
And when all men were a loss,
It screeched in writhing agony,
And it hung bleeding from the Cross.
It died in Rome by lion and sword,
And in defiant cruel array,
When the deathly word was ‘Spartacus’
Along the Appian Way.
It marched with Wat the Tyler’s poor,
And frightened lord and king,
And it was emblazoned in their deathly stare,
As e’er a living thing.
It smiled in holy innocence,
Before conquistadors of old,
So meek and tame and unaware,
Of the deathly power of gold.
It burst forth through pitiful Paris streets,
And stormed the old Bastille,
And marched upon the serpent’s head,
And crushed it ‘neath its heel.
It died in blood on Buffalo Plains,
And starved by moons of rain,
Its heart was buried in Wounded Knee,
But it will come to rise again.
It screamed aloud by Kerry lakes,
As it was knelt upon the ground,
And it died in great defiance,
As they coldly shot it down.
It is found in every light of hope,
It knows no bounds nor space
It has risen in red and black and white,
It is there in every race.
It lies in the hearts of heroes dead,
It screams in tyrants’ eyes,
It has reached the peak of mountains high,
It comes searing ‘cross the skies.
It lights the dark of this prison cell,
It thunders forth its might,
It is ‘the undauntable thought’, my friend,
That thought that says ‘I’m right!’

mike
7 years ago
Reply to  jimmybee

Thank you mucho,mucho,jimmybee,brilliant post.

Vinnie
7 years ago
Reply to  jimmybee

Absolutely brilliant post, Jimmybee. Jesus Christ, reading that brought shivers to my bones. My life-long hatred is injustice, in all its forms, something we’re surrounded by daily. My hope is for Truth and Real Justice, everywhere but I realise that hope is forlorn. But when I’ve been lost in singing YNWA, I accept the lot and just try to do my little bit for change; towards a fairer, better life for all. A life where the only form of swearing would relate to millionaires and a place where billionaires could not survive.
Maybe, just maybe, like the end of your poem,
“I’m right”
HH

mike
7 years ago

Caption, She aint heavy, shes my brother.

FredCDobbs@hotmail.com
7 years ago

I would rather have delia than roy keane.

Brencelt
7 years ago

Caption: Sexy hottie models self defence net curtains shocker

Dziekanowski's nightclub child
7 years ago

Ally returns for the big hoose party

TonyB
7 years ago

Where does all this wicked away moisture go away to?

wolfie bhoy
7 years ago

Jabba the huts Ma defends his final article for the daily radar.

Devoy45
7 years ago

Caption: “Monti’s wife, after trying to use his XBox…”

Charlie Saiz
7 years ago

Caption : BoxNation announce Vicky R Kid Hatton sex change shocker …

charlie
7 years ago

i wonder if her at the bottom could beat him wae the top hat even wae aw ees blades ha ha

Monti
7 years ago

I would ride her….just saying.

charlie
7 years ago
Reply to  Monti

ha ha ha ha thats got to win it

charlie
7 years ago
Reply to  charlie

monti i nearly fell aff a roof there

Puffin1967
7 years ago
Reply to  Monti

Winner ha ha

Devoy45
7 years ago

Keane? I respect him enormously, as a player, competitor and Irishman. However, he has been a poor manager and we don’t need him at Celtic. He could be the worst disaster we have ever had at Celtic. I reckon he has has no man management skills and will make most players too frightened to make a mistake. Please, no. Consider: MON, WGS, Lenny, Brendan Rodgers, Stevie Clarke. I could go with Moyes too. My choice would be Stevie Clarke but I would be happy with any of the others. MON, WGS,Moyes won’t come to Celtic. We need a manager who will be proud to be at Celtic, not who sees it as a holding position for a better job back in the English ‘big show.’

andybhoy
7 years ago

Caption… Dundee beauty models latest must have summer 2016 fashion wear.

Monti
7 years ago
Reply to  andybhoy

🙂

mike
7 years ago
Reply to  andybhoy

Whoosh and yer deed, Yesterday all sweetness and light,now today he stabs you in the back, i think i prefered him posting under,peter,picked a pickled pepper.

Your turn will come,dont know where dont no when,but i know that we shall meet again some sunny day.
Then watch yer back Stagheed.

andybhoy
7 years ago
Reply to  mike

Love your posts Mike and you know it’s all done in the possible taste….as some late Liverpudlian comic with big fake boobs used to say.

mike
7 years ago
Reply to  mike

Same here Andy, Am always up for a laugh,with my pals of course.H.H.

Are you going to the game on sunday?

andybhoy
7 years ago
Reply to  mike

I’m working and can’t get off.

mike
7 years ago
Reply to  andybhoy

Thats a shame Andy,you have to enjoy yourself sometimes,(maybe thats it,after shes gone all thats left is a band of gold).Yes.

.Wave to you from the J.Stein stand.

mike
7 years ago
Reply to  andybhoy

Oh imagine that, having to do the hoovering and ironing on sunday,just get Bgbhoy to do it,after all thats what sons are for.
I will think about you from the J.Stein stand on sunday,i must be a masochist watching that pish.
Never mind,now that hes gone all thats left is a band of gold,all thats left is the shite of old.

H.H. Andybhoy.

mike
7 years ago
Reply to  andybhoy

Sha la la la la la la,
When the day is dawning,Andybhoy rises scratching and yawning,
Hes looking forward to Bonny Dundee,
Dreaming dreams of wee Monti.
Show me the way to Bonny Dundee,
and sweet Monti who waits for me.
Sha la la la la la la la,Sha la la la la la la la,
Sha la la la la la la la,
Show me the way to Bonny Dundee,
and wee Monti who waits for me. Ha,Ha Ha.(shite bags).

charlie
7 years ago

them boxing gloves aint for fighting thetr to stop her scratching her sweaty arse

corktim
7 years ago

Hi Ralph should be FAI not IFA,unless its michael o Neill in the frame for the managers job hopefully not,that would be worse than deila

Brian (not the messiah)
7 years ago

Caption: is susan punching above her weight in the caption competitions or is ralph scared sh*tless of the consequences if she doesn’t win!!!

Can’t wait to get my toxic coloured strip might get some zombies printed on the side with not a new club text.
Could we not get an ice cream and jelly sponsor for next year?

andybhoy
7 years ago

Caption….Told this is Hattie Madders, Irish Dairy Farmer, AKA The Mad Hatter. Fought the Scottish boxer Wee Willy Harris, 1883.

Poor wee Willy after the fight he was henceforth known as Even wee’er Willy Harris.

Celtic125
7 years ago

Seeing as pish talk is the order of the day and in relation to Res12, let me remind you prior to the result of today’s election, the story of the once mighty Labour party………….nighty nite!

ewanbhoy
7 years ago

Caption…..the first winner of the rangers suppoeters beauty contest

stu67
7 years ago

Bring in Guus Hiddink – out of work at seasons end, vastly experienced and successful at domestic, European and international level
Will command respect and has plenty of tactical nous – just sayin’

Monti
7 years ago
Reply to  stu67

Stu 67,
I would welcome Hiddink to Celtic, definitely!

jimmybee
7 years ago

Caption: Hearts Ann budge gets ready to stop more Celtic fans entering tynecastle next season.

jimmybee
7 years ago

I’m sure there ma fuckin grannies curtains. Robbin bastard.

jimmybee
7 years ago

Here’s another Poem from a true son of Ireland.
Bobby Sands mp
For Barry’s soul we prayed in hell,
Pathetic creatures adorned in pain,
And we never heard his requiem bell,
But our own — in torture’s livid strain.

In the southern realms of Munster world,
The humble whin bush sway,
Shedding yellow tears like child
For a legend passed away.

And they blow down lanes of time gone by,
O’er Crossbarry and Kilmicheal grave,
And resurrect a battle cry,
‘With Barry, boys be brave! ’

In dusky light, by mist, o’er hills they tread,
A column on the run,
The ghosts of fighters long since dead,
Yet n’er at rest, their guns still slung.

Now Barry leads them in the night,
Hardy souls of Cork Brigade,
To tramp the glens to morning light,
When their ghostly forms shall fade.

And we prayed tonight for Barry’s rest,
Would Barry e’er be free,
As he tramps across old Munster’s breast,
To blind eternity.

And in darkened shadows, ‘neath prison bars,
The hags of torture wave,
But we hear a voice that is of ours,
‘With Barry, boys be brave! ’

BOBBY SANDS was twenty seven years old when he died on the sixty sixth day of hunger-strike in the H-Block prison hospital, Long Kesh, on the 5th May 1981. The young IRA Volunteer who had spent almost the last nine years of his short life in prison as a result of his Irish republican activities was, by the time of his death, world-famous having been elected to the british parliament and having withstood pressures, political and moral (including an emissary from Pope John Paul II) , for him to abandon his fast which was aimed at countering a criminalisation policy by the british government. His name became a household word in Ireland, and his sacrifice (as did that of those who followed him) overturned british propaganda on Ireland and had a real effect in advancing the cause of Irish freedom.

*Tom Barry, an IRA commander in
the Tan War, died in July 1980

Monti
7 years ago
Reply to  jimmybee

Jimmybee,
Outstanding my friend!

mike
7 years ago
Reply to  Monti

Brilliant Jimmybee,UP THE RA.

Monti
7 years ago

Still no word on a new manager yet?
Shambles.

Buy your season tickets and new home top though?

jimmybee
7 years ago
Reply to  Monti

of this article were first published anonymously in ‘Republican News’, December 16th, 1978. The smuggled out article recalls how the spirit of republican defiance grew within him, and is a semi-autobiographical account.

BOBBY SANDS was born in 1954 in Rathcoole, a predominantly loyalist district of north Belfast. His twenty-seventh birthday fell on the ninth day of his sixty-six-day hunger strike. His sisters Marcella, one year younger, and Bernadette, were born in April 1955 and November 1958, respectively. All three lived their early years at Abbots Cross in the Newtownabbey area of north Belfast. A second son, John, now nineteen, was born to their parents John and Rosaleen, now both aged 57, in June 1962.

The sectarian realities of ghetto life materialised early in Bobby’s life when at the age of ten his family were forced to move home owing to loyalist intimidation even as early as 1962. Bobby recalled his mother speaking of the troubled times which occurred during her childhood; ‘Although I never really under stood what internment was or who the ‘Specials’ were, I grew to regard them as symbols of evil ‘.

Of this time Bobby himself later wrote: ”I was only a working-class boy from a Nationalist ghetto, but it is repression that creates the revolutionary spirit of freedom. I shall not settle until I achieve liberation of my country, until Ireland becomes a sovereign, independent socialist republic. ”

When Bobby was sixteen years old he started work as an apprentice coach builder and joined the National Union of Vehicle Builders and the ATGWU. In an article printed in ‘An Phoblacht/Republican News’ on April 4th, 1981, Bobby recalled: ”Starting work, although frightening at first became alright, especially with the reward at the end of the week. Dances and clothes, girls and a few shillings to spend, opened up a whole new world to me.”

Bobby’s background, experiences and ambitions did not differ greatly from that of the average ghetto youth. Then came 1968 and the events which were to change his life. Bobby had served two years of his apprenticeship when he was intimidated out of his job. His sister Bernadette recalls: “Bobby went to work one morning and these fellows were standing there cleaning guns. One fellow said to him, ‘Do you see these here, well if you don’t go you’ll get this’ then Bobby also found a note in his lunch-box telling him to get out.”

In June 1972, the family were intimidated out of their home in Doonbeg Drive, Rathcoole and moved into the newly built Twinbrook estate on the fringe of nationalist West Belfast. Bernadette again recalled: We had suffered intimidation for about eighteen months before we were actually put out. We had always been used to having Protestant friends. Bobby had gone around with Catholics and Protestants, but it ended up when everything erupted, that the friends he went about with for years were the same ones who helped to put his family out of their home.

As well as being intimidated out of his job and his home being under threat Bobby also suffered personal attacks from the loyalists.

At eighteen Bobby joined the Republican Movement. Bernadette says: .. ‘he was just at the age when he was beginning to become aware of things happening around him. He more or less just said right, this is where I’m going to take up. A couple of his cousins had been arrested and interned. Booby felt that he should get involved and start doing something. ‘

Bobby himself wrote. “My life now centered around sleepless nights and stand-bys dodging the Brits and calming nerves to go out on operations. But the people stood by us. The people not only opened the doors of their homes to lend us a hand but they opened their hearts to us. I learned that without the people we could not survive and I knew that I owed them everything.

In October 1972, he was arrested. Four handguns were found in a house he was staying in and he was charged with possession. He spent the next three years in the cages of Long Kesh where he had political prisoner status. During this time Bobby read widely and taught himself Irish which he was later to teach the other blanket men in the H-Blocks.

Released in 1976 Bobby returned to his family in Twinbrook. He reported back to his local unit and straight back into the continuing struggle: ‘Quite a lot of things had changed some parts of the ghettos had completely disappeared and others were in the process of being removed. The war was still forging ahead although tactics and strategy had changed. The British government was now seeking to ‘Ulsterise’ the war which included the attempted criminalisation of the IRA and attempted normalisation of the war situation.’

Bobby set himself to work tackling the social issues which affected the Twinbrook area. Here he became a community activist. According to Bernadette, ‘When he got out of jail that first time our estate had no Green Cross, no Sinn Fein, nor anything like that. He was involved in the Tenants’ Association… He got the black taxis to run to Twinbrook because the bus service at that time was inadequate. It got to the stage where people were coming to the door looking for Bobby to put up ramps on the roads in case cars were going too fast and would knock the children down.’

Within six months Bobby was arrested again. There had been a bomb attack on the Balmoral Furniture Company at Dunmurry, followed by a gun-battle in which two men were wounded. Bobby was in a car near the scene with three other young men. The RUC captured them and found a revolver in the car.

The six men were taken to Castlereagh and were subjected to brutal interrogations for six days. Bobby refused to answer any questions during his interrogation, except his name, age and address.

In a ninety-six verse poem written in 1980, entitled ‘The Crime of Castlereagh’, Bobby tells of his experiences in Castlereagh and his fears and thoughts at the time.

They came and came their job the same

In relays N’er they stopped.

‘Just sign the line!’ They shrieked each time

And beat me ’till I dropped.

They tortured me quite viciously

They threw me through the air.

It got so bad it seemed I had

Been beat beyond repair.

The days expired and no one tired,

Except of course the prey,

And knew they well that time would tell

Each dirty trick they laid on thick

For no one heard or saw,

Who dares to say in Castlereagh

The ‘police’ would break the law!

He was held on remand for eleven months until his trial in September 1977. As at his previous trial he refused to recognise the court.

The judge admitted there was no evidence to link Bobby, or the other three young men with him, to the bombing. So the four of them were sentenced to fourteen years each for possession of the one revolver.

Bobby spent the first twenty-two days of his sentence in solitary confinement, ‘on the boards’ in Crumlin Road jail. For fifteen of those days he was completely naked. He was moved to the H-Blocks and joined the blanket protest. He began to write for Republican News and then after February 1979 for the newly-merged An Phobhacht/Republican News under the pen-name, ‘Marcella’, his sister’s name. His articles and letters, in minute handwriting, like all communications from the H-Blocks, were smuggled out on tiny pieces of toilet paper.

He wrote: ‘The days were long and lonely. The sudden and total deprivation of such basic human necessities as exercise and fresh air, association with other people, my own clothes and things like newspapers, radio, cigarettes books and a host of other things, made my life very hard.’

Bobby became PRO for the blanket men and was in constant confrontation with the prison authorities which resulted in several spells of solitary confinement. In the H-Blocks, beatings, long periods in the punishment cells, starvation diets and torture were commonplace as the prison authorities, with the full knowledge and consent of the British administration, imposed a harsh and brutal regime on the prisoners in their attempts to break the prisoners’ resistance to criminalisation.

The H-Blocks became the battlefield in which the republican spirit of resistance met head-on all the inhumanities that the British could perpetrate. The republican spirit prevailed and in April 1978 in protest against systematic ill-treatment when they went to the toilets or got showered, the H-Block prisoners refused to wash or slop-out. They were joined in this no-wash protest by the women in Armagh jail in February 1980 when they were subjected to similar harassment.

On October 27th, 1980, following the breakdown of talks between British direct ruler in the North, Humphrey Atkins, and Cardinal O Fiaich, the Irish Catholic primate, seven prisoners in the H-Blocks began a hunger strike. Bobby volunteered for the fast but instead he succeeded, as O/C, Brendan Hughes, who went on hunger-strike.

During the hunger-strike he was given political recognition by the prison authorities. The day after a senior British official visited the hunger-strikers, Bobby was brought half a mile in a prison van from H3 to the prison hospital to visit them. Subsequently he was allowed several meetings with Brendan Hughes. He was not involved in the decision to end the hunger-strike which was taken by the seven men alone. But later that night he was taken to meet them and was allowed to visit republican prison leaders in H-Blocks 4, 5 and 6.

On December 19th, 1980, Bobby issued a statement that the prisoners would not wear prison-issue clothing nor do prison work. He then began negotiations with the prison governor, Stanley Hilditch, for a step-by-step de-escalation of the protest.

But the prisoners’ efforts were rebuffed by the authorities: ‘We discovered that our good will and flexibility were in vain,’ wrote Bobby. It was made abundantly clear during one of my co-operation’ meetings with prison officials that strict conformity was required. which in essence meant acceptance of criminal status.

In the H-Blocks the British saw the opportunity to defeat the IRA by criminalising Irish freedom fighters but the blanketmen, perhaps more than those on the outside, appreciated before anyone else the grave repercussions, and so they fought.

Bobby volunteered to lead the new hunger strike. He saw it as a microcosm of the way the Brits were treating Ireland historically and presently, Bobby realised that someone would have to die to win political status.

He insisted on starting two weeks in front of the others so that perhaps his death could secure the five demands and save their lives. For the first seventeen days of the hunger strike Bobby kept a secret diary in which he wrote his thoughts and views, mostly in English but occasionally breaking into Gaelic. He had no fear of death and saw the hunger-strike as something much larger than the five demands and as having major repercussions for British rule in Ireland. The diary was written on toilet paper in biro pen and had to be hidden, mostly carried inside Bobby’s own body. During those first seventeen days Bobby lost a total of sixteen pounds weight and on Monday, March 23rd, he was moved to the prison hospital.

On March 30th, he was nominated as candidate for the Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election caused by the sudden death of Frank Maguire, an independent MP who supported the prisoners’ cause.

The next morning, day thirty-one, of his hunger-strike, he was visited by Owen Carron who acted as his election agent. Owen told of that first visit ‘Instead of meeting that young man of the poster with long hair and a fresh face, even at that time when Bobby wasn’t too bad he was radically changed. He was very thin and bony and his hair was cut short.’

Bobby had no illusions with regard to his election victory. His reaction was not one of over-optimism. After the result was announced Owen visited Bobby. “He had already heard the result on the radio. He was in good form alright but he always used to keep saying, ‘In my position you can’t afford to be optimistic.’ In other words, he didn’t take it that because he’d won an election that his life would be saved. He thought that the Brits would need their pound of flesh. I think he was always working on the premise that he would have to die.”

At 1.17 a.m. on Tuesday, May 5th, having completed sixty-five days on hunger-strike, Bobby Sands MP, died in the H-Block prison hospital at Long Kesh. Bobby was a truly unique person whose loss is great and immeasurable. He never gave himself a moment to spare. He lived his life energetically, dedicated to his people and to the republican cause, eventually offering up his life in a conscious effort to further that cause and the cause of those with whom he had shared almost eight years of his adult life. In his own words: “of course can be murdered but I remain what I am, a political POW and no-one, not even the British, can change that.”

Bobby Sands MP forever in our hearts.

jimmybee
7 years ago

My Fav Monti sung by Christie Moore, hope someone can put it up
Back Home In Derry – Poem by Bobby Sands
Autoplay next video
In 1803 we sailed out to sea
Out from the sweet town of Derry
For Australia bound if we didn’t all drown
And the marks of our fetters we carried
In our rusty iron chains we sighed for our weans
Our good women we left in sorrow
As the mainsails unfurled, our curses we hurled
On the English, and thoughts of tomorrow

CHORUS
Oh Oh Oh Oh I wish I was back home in Derry
Oh Oh Oh Oh I wish I was back home in Derry

At the mouth of the Foyle, bid farewell to the soil
As down below decks we were lying
O’Doherty screamed, woken out of a dream
By a vision of bold Robert dying
The sun burned cruel as we dished out the gruel
Dan O’Connor was down with a fever
Sixty rebels today bound for Botany Bay
How many will meet their reciever

CHORUS
Oh Oh Oh Oh I wish I was back home in Derry
Oh Oh Oh Oh I wish I was back home in Derry

I cursed them to hell as her bow fought the swell
Our ship danced like a moth in the firelight
White horse rode high as the devil passed by
Taking souls to Hades by twilight
Five weeks out to sea, we were now forty-three
Our comrades we buried each morning
In our own slime we were lost in a time
Of endless night without dawning

CHORUS
Oh Oh Oh Oh I wish I was back home in Derry
Oh Oh Oh Oh I wish I was back home in Derry

Van Diemen’s land is a hell for a man
To live out his whole life in slavery
Where the climate is raw and the gun makes the law
Neither wind nor rain care for bravery
Twenty years have gone by, I’ve ended my bond
My comrades ghosts walk behind me
A rebel I came – I’m still the same
On the cold winters night you will find me

CHORUS
Oh Oh Oh Oh I wish I was back home in Derry
Oh Oh Oh Oh I wish I was back home in Derry

jpm 88
7 years ago
Reply to  jimmybee

jimmybee
7 years ago
Reply to  jpm 88

Cheers m8

mike
7 years ago
Reply to  jimmybee

Three cheers for the Mayo Bhoy.jpm88,

Rip Bobby Sands M.P.

jpm 88
7 years ago
Reply to  mike

Cheers mike 🙂

Morto
7 years ago

Is that the Level 5 receptionist in the picture?
Jane Traynor?

Monti
7 years ago

There are many concerns for the Celtic supporters as the season comes to an end, I need to move onto the semi final defeat to the Huns, but it’s a fucking bitter pill for me to swallow, I can’t believe we have given these fucks their day out at Hampden, raging!
The biggest task for this board is to reunite with the support and attract a manager of calibre and experience.
There are do many issues surrounding Celtic just now, from Tory’s in the boardroom, transfer policies, CEO bonus’s, shite manager and even more shite scouts, not to mention a few players in the squad who are a fucking joke.
Celtic simply must get this next appointment right, get a man in who has been there and done it, has tactical knowledge and knows how to motivate a side.
One of the biggest negatives with Ronny Deila’s Celtic teams is their lack of true grit, when the chips are down we fucking toil, we struggle, fuck that, Celtic sides are famous for fighting to the death, never say die approach, attack, attack, attack, it’s the Celtic way stick your one up front up your arse.
Let’s get back to battering teams into submission, out fight them, out run them and out score them.
It’s time apathy, disillusionment and mundane was replaced with fun, inspiration and sheer hard fucking graft!

COYBIG!!

Devoy45
7 years ago

Corktim. Why not Michael O’Neill for Celtic? Tell me more.
Monti. Would Hiddink come to Celtic after being overlooked once?

Monti
7 years ago
Reply to  Devoy45

Devoy,
I don’t know is the honest answer, but he is definitely the level of manager we should be aiming for.
No harm in asking…..

corktim
7 years ago
Reply to  Devoy45

Hi devoy45,Michael o neill has done a great job with Northern Ireland getting to the euros,but his club managment record is pretty poor,Brechin,shamrock rovers,another disaster waiting to happen if appointed.This is one of the most important decisions the board have to make in modern times and they need to get it spot on.

wulz
7 years ago

AT 12.15 ON SUNDAY BEFORE THE GAME AT CELTIC PARK, spokesman for the 96 along with some of the families from Liverpool, will be out on the park. PLEASE BE IN THE GROUND EARLY FOR YNWA IN SUPPORT OF THEIR CAUSE.
SPREAD THE WORD
JUSTICE FOR THE 96
HH

jimmybee
7 years ago
Reply to  wulz

Will be there again Wulz, looking forward to seeing some old friends,from the red and the blues at the game.
Justice for the 96 You’ll never walk alone Rip.

wulz
7 years ago
Reply to  jimmybee

Jimmybee
Good man
HH

jimmybee
7 years ago
Reply to  wulz

Celtic graves are putting up a plague as well that morning to commerate the original Celtic Park. Think that happens around half 10. Hope thus gets a good turn out too. They do a great job.

mike
7 years ago
Reply to  jimmybee

Jimmy we are in the Jock Stein stand at the front and will be in situ for the 96 tribute,gie me a wave from the Directors box.

Half_Fool
7 years ago

Caption:

and you thought you’d seen the last of Terry Hurlock…

Celtic125
7 years ago

Mibbee it’s because I’ve served a number of years in self imposed exile or it could be that I’m a “special” kind of contrary. And I accept that I am a greetin’ faced dud. I’ve been unemployed for ten weeks now after being shafted by a firm that colluded wae the previous firm I worked for and was wrongfully sacked from. On the first Saturday of 2016 I was battered and robbed in my Taxi by four Young Team who then ran to the Filth and charged me wae assault. So how come I feel like this is the worst day of the year so far?
I accept this might be the rantings of a wronged worker consumed by depressive thoughts but here goes. How come some Tims are more important than others? Why are some of our more esteemed bloggers so eager to tell us that Res 12 is alive and progressing but not actually divulging any details? I smell sell out.

jimmybee
7 years ago
Reply to  Celtic125

Celtic125,after every darkness comes light. Do not despair m8.
Not one supporter on this site is more important than another.
Not one person on this earth is more important than any other.
We are in the eyes of the creator equal.
So don’t fret about Res 12 m8 it will be what it will be.
Get yourself fit and ready for work,get yourself back into the old you,and remember we all suffer at some point. The knocks you have had have been brutal to you,but leave them in the past m8. Go forward and think good things and what has yet to come. Hail Hail to you and your loved ones.

mike
7 years ago

celtic 125, no wonder you feel down and i sympathize with you very much,no wonder your angry,but sometimes you have to have faith.Faith in your fellow supporters,i know nothing whatsoever about the progress or lack of on Res 12,but there are great tims,judging from what i have read working on it and recently divulged on cqn that quote,things are moving along nicely and that they are relaxed about it.Maybe i am very niaive but i am willing to believe them,if this is untrue then the consequences would be calamitous.

Celtic125
7 years ago
Reply to  mike

Thanx for the support, I truly appreciate it. But the grounds shifted. I always had reservations wae Paul67, top Tim that he is, but his special relationship wae Pl shows him up as the apparatchik that he always dreamed of being. James Forrest’ retort to Paul Larkin has been long overdue. Larkin is the King of self publicists and an average writer to boot which reveals his motivation.
Are you Embramike by any chance? If so, your post on CQN was sublime.

mike
7 years ago
Reply to  mike

Celtic125, No i am not Embramike,just another tic supporter who can relate to other Tims.
I lurk occasionally on cqn,but like here there are some good tims there also,though i am not a big fan of that blog.
When i last read it a couple of days ago,Auldhead stated what i quoted earlier.
I try to keep the faith with fellow tic supporters and respect all views,i am keeping that faith with the Res12 guys just now,but as for the Board,that is a different matter.To be honest i think that the next few weeks will be good,but that is just a feeling.
Keep your head up and deal with what is in front of you,it will get better.H.H.

BJF
7 years ago

Jimmybee fantastc especially the first post. Bobby Sands played soccer for Star of thecSea in Belfast a highly rated and mixed religious youth football team, maybe the only mixed youth tea in the city. It was run y a charismatic Belfast GP Dr. Liam Conlon. I trained with them sadly. It good ebough to get a game, our age group had Hibs style shirts.Then went to my Parish team who had Ipswich colours, too blue!
Respect Celtic 125, to a better day

mike
7 years ago
Reply to  BJF

BJF, Mother of Christ,
Star of the sea,
Pray for the wanderer,
Pray for me.
One of my favourites.

jimmybee
7 years ago
Reply to  BJF

Bjf do you know any of the lads from the holy cross boxing club,they were up doing a show in our club last year. Great bunch of guys.

ewanbhoy
7 years ago

i have heard that Guus Hiddinks representatives have been in touch with our board as he is interested in the job…….watch this space…

Bob McDougall
7 years ago

bullshit

mike
7 years ago

ewanbhoy, that would be great if that were to happen,i always doubted that it would because of Dermots knock back when he appointed MON.

BJF
7 years ago

Jimmybee Holy Cross, a bit after my time, now Holy Rosary… They say the most blood shed by a catholic in Belfast before the Troubles was when wee Joe Whyte
got knocked out in the Down and Connor boxing finals!
Gus Hiddunck was wanted by us late 1990s he would be good, quite fancy Roberto Martinez, married to a Lanarkshire woman.

BJF
7 years ago

Correction I know no one else cares but it was Joe O’ Malley who was the boxer shedding his blood, Joe White was a footballer!

Rudebhoy
7 years ago

Caption – a hun wife preparing for her hun husband to return from a match.

maryhillbhoy
7 years ago

Caption comp
Ralph continues to pander to his predilection for big, unfriendly hun type women

Phaco
7 years ago

A fine lump o a wummin. Hh

jimmybee
7 years ago

Lots of money gone on Brendan Rodgers tonight sky reports.

maryhillbhoy
7 years ago
Reply to  jimmybee

Here’s hoping Jimmy, I would love Rodgers to get the gig

jimmybee
7 years ago

Momentum growing. Read this

The Offshore Game’s new report into the Rangers tax affair shows just how a badly-run football association can undermine a level playing field – and what needs to be done about it. Here’s the short version…

In 2012 Rangers were liquidated. One of the contributing factors to this was an offshore tax avoidance scheme that went (comprehensively and predictably) wrong.

This new report looks at two questions that confronted Scottish football regulators, connected to the attempt by Rangers to escape from paying taxes on players wages. In both these questions we have found serious evidence of impropriety by the Scottish Football Association (SFA), which brings into question their ability to fairly manage competition in Scotland’s game.

The analysis is based on multiple documents which we also republish here: those fully in the public domain such as court records, and a set of documents which had been leaked from Rangers over a period of time.

The full report can be downloaded here.

The annexes, which contain the documents used as the basis of our analysis, can be found here.

ISSUE 1 – THE SPL INQUIRY INTO RULE BREAKING AT RANGERS
The first concerns the judge-led Commission set up by the Scottish Premier League (SPL) into alleged rule breaking by Rangers in the run up to their collapse.

The Commission considered whether Rangers should be stripped of a series of league and cup titles. It is clear from the documents that the then President of the SFA, Campbell Ogilvie, misled the public and the judge presiding over the inquiry, which led them to make a material error of fact in their judgement.

Specifically, Mr Ogilvie told the public and the inquiry that nothing to do with the payments to players through Employee Benefits Trusts fell within his role at Rangers.

However, documentary evidence is clear that in fact Mr Ogilvie was a central figure in the establishment of the Discounted Options Scheme, which was a tax avoidance scheme that was part of the Rangers Employee Benefit Trust.

The fact that Mr Ogilvie had previously been one of the longest serving officials in the history of Rangers Football Club clearly raises questions as to the motive behind his statements – since the inquiry’s own findings imply that, in full possession of the facts, they would have to have reached a different decision.

Mr Ogilvie and the SFA did not respond to our requests for comment.

ISSUE 2 – RANGERS’ LICENCE TO PLAY IN EUROPE 2011/2012
The second issue concerns the grant and retention of a licence to play in Europe to Rangers in the 2011/12 season, when the finances of the club suggested it was on the verge of imminent collapse.

UEFA rules are clear that in order to get a licence to play European football a club must prove that it has no overdue payables to tax authorities. Our analysis of the evidence shows that Rangers clearly had an overdue payable as defined in the UEFA rules and could not have met that test.

However, regardless of this, the SFA did grant Rangers a licence. Although the SFA were informed by Rangers of an on-going issue concerning a large tax bill, they accepted Ranger’s erroneous argument that this did not break any UEFA rules.

It appears that the SFA did little to test the explanation regarding the status of the bill given by Rangers, and subsequent correspondence reveals an unhealthy degree of co-ordination between Rangers and the SFA over the PR around the decision.

As history unfolded, Rangers were knocked out before reaching the group stages of the Champion’s League. Had they managed to achieve victory in the qualifying rounds, they might well have gained the resources they needed to keep the club afloat and to pay the overdue tax bill based on Champions League income, thwarting the very purpose of UEFA FFP Articles in respect of overdue tax.

Again, the fact that the SFA had done nothing to question the obvious issues in Rangers’ financial returns calls into question their effectiveness as a regulator.

THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF SPORT REGULATORS
In sports, regulators have a particular responsibility. Although legally football clubs are structured as any other business, football clubs have a far greater significance and meaning to most people than any other business. It therefore must be a priority for football regulators to make sure that football clubs are well managed and financially sound, so that they continue to provide joy and disappointment (in unequal measure) to their fans.

Regulators also have a duty to ensure fair play, over and above the usual rules that govern competition between companies. To ensure that competition stays on the pitch and doesn’t retreat behind the closed doors of the boardroom, regulators must make rules to ensure clubs do not gain unfair and unsporting advantages over others.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, in order to execute these functions, a regulator must itself be fair. To preserve the integrity of the system, the regulator must be beyond reproach, and behave in a way which does not produce any suspicion that that they might be exercising their power unfairly, in favour of one team over another.

THE SCOTTISH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATON: NOT FIT FOR FAIR PLAY
Ongoing court cases prevent comment on a number of aspects of Rangers’ liquidation, and the subsequent sale of the assets which allowed a team to play again at Ibrox. It may well be that the current criminal trial concerning some of the former directors of Rangers may bring out more regulatory failings.

The two cases that are dealt with in the Offshore Game’s report however, which have nothing to do with the matter under consideration by the criminal court, call into question whether the SFA can be considered a fair and impartial regulator of Scottish football.

This is a question that the SFA has, thus far, flatly refused to answer. And that itself points to a much bigger question: is the SFA an organisation capable of fixing itself and adopting the required standards of transparency, accountability and fairness that fans of Scottish football deserve?

The evidence presented in this report does not amount to proof of corruption, and we do not allege corruption at the SFA. But the evidence does strongly suggest that the SFA is unable, if not actively unwilling, to ensure fair play. Major changes in personnel and governance structures will be necessary if the SFA is to show itself fit for purpose.

The first step to restoring confidence would be for the SFA to engage with UEFA over the clearly misleading returns that Rangers submitted to them, in order to get a licence to play European football in 2011. Secondly there needs to be a fully independent inquiry, including substantial fan representation, to assess the role of the SFA and the actions of key, senior staff in respect of each issue outlined in this report; and with a mandate to learn from more accountable sports authorities in other fields and to recommend sweeping governance changes to the SFA if deemed necessary.

jimmybee
7 years ago

Fits the bill perfect m8.

mike
7 years ago

To dream the impossible dream,
To fight the impossible foe,
To run where the brave dare not go to,
This is my quest,
To follow the Tic,
No matter how hopeless,
In health or when sick,
To fight for the right,
Without question or pause,
To be willing to march into hell,
For a heavenly cause.
Ah Celtic,Celtic you are the team for me.
Common now Board grow a set and fight for our cause.

charlie
7 years ago

please Celtic call cheats cheats or break ma fenian heart

Oztim67
7 years ago

Caption: New fitness and diet coach arrives at Ibrox.

New Manager: Rodgers or Hiddink for me.

Keeping the Faith down under.

BondiBrian
7 years ago

35 year ago Bobby passed away? jusus feels like yesterday.

Respect to him & his comrades.

mike
7 years ago
Reply to  BondiBrian

Maryhill,he makes bread with his knickers on his head.

O.K. Hail Mary,i will wave to you from the Jock Stein stand on sunday. H.H.

Follow us on Twitter @ETimsNet