Sectarianism, Celtic FC and the Forgotten Irish Soldiers of World War I

Most people who are familiar with Glasgow will understand that it is a city divided, like Belfast, along sectarian lines which are arguably political, religious and even ethnic. This is the legacy of mass-immigration into Scotland from Ireland - even after generations there's still hostility between the Protestant and Catholic communities:

IN August 1999, one man caused a storm by suggesting that bigotry ran throughout Scottish society. In a lecture entitled Scotland's Shame, James MacMillan said he was embarrassed by his own country because of its widespread anti-Catholic tendencies and ''sleep-walking bigotry''. Some said Mr MacMillan was brave to put his head above the parapet. Others said he had gone too far. There was no argument, however, that the acclaimed composer had exposed a running sore in society.

Valerie Hannah; The Herald; 2002

This lecture inspired Scotland's then First Minister, Jack McConnell, to do what Labour always do if they perceive there to be a social problem - enact legislation which criminalises behaviour they deem to be offensive. So over the last few years I have witnessed the bizarre spectacle of Rangers supporters being arrested for singing football songs!

The fact of the matter is that the sectarian problem has been created by Irish immigration to Scotland en masse. Of course the establishment of the two Glasgow footballing giants - Rangers and Celtic - have helped ensure that the (largely) bloodless feud has continued into the 21st century, but the problem is also partly attributable to an abundance of Catholic schools and the reluctance of the Irish descended population to relinquish their ties to their ancestral land.

This is not something unique to Glasgow, Liverpool elected an Irish Nationalist MP, T.P. O'Connor, in 1885. Many Irish Nationalist councillors were elected up until the 1920s, too, and Liverpool's unique Scouse accent and culture has been influenced by Irish immigration. But the sectarian divide is far more obvious in Glasgow.

The Celtic FC

Celtic were founded by an Irish catholic monk, Brother Walfrid, in 1888 as a means of raising funds for the deprived of Glasgow's east end which hosted the majority of the city's Irish immigrant population.

Alongside the Archbishop of Glasgow, the first patron of the Celtic Football Club was former Fenian and founder of the National League (1879), Michael Davitt, who was elected patron 'with acclaim' at the annual general meeting of 1889. Davitt, one of the most popular of the nationalist leaders, was invited to lay the first sod of 'real Irish shamrocks' at the new Celtic Park in 1892.

(...)

Celtic directors had been the chief contributors to every Irish and catholic fund in the city...'they were instrumental in sending a handsome donation from Glasgow toward the Irish Parliamentary Fund. Who else could boast of this?'

The Old Firm, Sectarianism, Sport and Society in Scotland; Bill Murray; 1994; John Donald Publishers Ltd; Page 70

As one can tell, the club has been associated with Irish Nationalism since its conception. Many of the songs that sections of the club's support sing are supportive of the Irish Republican Army (IRA):

CELTIC fans were blasted last night for allegedly singing pro-IRA chants during their 2-0 win over Hearts yesterday.

Punters watching the Tynecastle match on TV claimed a section of the support sang IRA anthem 'The Boys of the Old Brigade' and "Ooh Ah Up the 'RA".

IRA Songs Storm; The Scottish Sun; 03 Nov 2008

Therefore last weekend's protest by Celtic supporters against the club's decision to have a poppy embroidered on their shirt didn't really surprise me a great deal:

The banners read: "Your deeds would shame all the devils in Hell. Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan. No bloostained (sic) poppy on our Hoops."

Unfortunately, like it or not, the simple truth of the matter is that even after generations many Irish-Scots resent the British state and the British military. The implication of course is that the Irish immigrants have failed to assimilate, which to me begs the question:

If a white, Christian people from another part of the British Isles have failed to assimilate after several generations, how on earth will we assimilate, for example, the millions of Muslims who have come to these shores?

Appalling Behaviour

Whilst I unreservedly support the Celtic fans' right to protest - and I was appalled by The Scottish Express' comment this week suggesting that this should have been a police matter - I nevertheless wholeheartedly condemn their actions.

I personally do not support the war in Afghanistan, and I am outraged that our armed forces are being forced to risk their lives for a conflict that is not in our interests. However, in hard times such as these, many young men from deprived backgrounds join the military out of necessity - in search of a trade and an opportunity to see the world - not that I am doubting that many are also inspired by a sense of patriotic duty. After the 7/7 attacks and the attempt on Glasgow Airport many more, I imagine, genuinely believe that they are making the world a better place by fighting Muslim fanatics, too. So why take it out on them?

It is the likes of the current Celtic chairman, John Reid (a former member of the Communist Party), who are responsible for the Afghanistan conflict, not our loyal service personnel. Scum like Reid, Blair and the rest of that treacherous rabble have no respect for our troops. Whilst they spent billions of pounds every year on foreign aid, our troops were not even provided with adequate kit:

The British Army is operating with "woefully inadequate" resources in Afghanistan that are putting soldiers' lives in danger, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Despite Tony Blair's promise last year that the Army would be furnished with whatever equipment it needed there are still glaring and dangerous gaps in what is being delivered on the ground.

'Woeful' shortages put soldiers' lives at risk; The Daily Telegraph; By Thomas Harding in Helmand province; 16 Jun 2007

The Forgotten Irish Soldiers

Sadly, thanks largely to the Republican mindset hating all things British, the southern Irish fallen are often neglected when it comes to Remembrance Day. As the BBC's history site remarks (my annotations are in red):

In all, about 210,000* Irishmen served in the British forces during World War One. Since there was no conscription, about 140,000 of these joined during the war as volunteers. Some 35,000 Irish died. Irishmen enlisted for the war effort for a variety of reasons.

*This statistic includes Loyalist volunteers from Ulster, who comprised approximately half the total. Additionally, the Waterford County Museum claims that 350,000 Irishmen fought, the discrepancy may be because of Irishmen living on mainland Britain not being included in the BBC's stats.

(...)

Nationalists, for whom the establishment of an Irish 'home rule' parliament in Dublin had been the principal political aim for most of the 19th century, were committed to the war effort by their leader, John Redmond, in September 1914.

Notice that up until the Easter Rising, the majority of Nationalists had pursued 'home rule' (i.e. a devolved government, like Scotland has today) and not full independence.

This was on the grounds that the necessary legislation had been passed (though in fact it was suspended for the duration of the war), and that the 'freedom of small nations' (such as Belgium or Serbia) was that of Ireland as well. The plight of gallant, Catholic little Belgium, invaded by a militaristic aggressor, was disadvantageously compared with Ireland, achieving freedom (so Redmond argued) within the British Empire, rather like Canada or Australia.

(...)

For others there was an economic motive. James Connolly, the socialist revolutionary, said that employment opportunities were so bad in Ireland that men had no choice but to enlist. It was, he asserted, 'economic conscription'. Certainly an unskilled worker might more than double his pay by joining up. By some accounts, Francis Ledwidge, poet, nationalist and trade union organiser, enlisted on the rebound from an unhappy love affair. And yet others, as the historian Philip Orr has argued, may have been borne along on 'a surge of naive patriotism'.

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/britain_wwone/ireland_wwone_01.shtml

The following is a list of southern Irish regiments that fought in World War I:

-The Royal Irish Regiment (formerly 18th Regiment of Foot)

-The Connaught Rangers (formerly 88th Regiment of Foot and 94th Regiment of Foot)

-The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) (formerly 100th Regiment of Foot and 109th Regiment of Foot)

-The Royal Munster Fusiliers (formerly 101st Regiment of Foot and 104th Regiment of Foot)

-The Royal Dublin Fusiliers (formerly 102nd Regiment of Foot and 103rd Regiment of Foot)

To give one example of the sacrifice Irishmen, and indeed Irish nationalists, made during World War I, consider William Redmond, MP and brother of the Irish Nationalist leader:

Willie Redmond's death was particularly poignant. Although over 50 years old, he had insisted both on joining up and on serving in the front line. 'I can't stand asking fellows to go and not offer myself,' he wrote.

Compare that man with Blair, or Reid!






LEST WE FORGET!