Welcome all and Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit!

If you know your history.

A famous line in a song that that is engraved on the hearts of every Celtic fan.

Why is it in the song? Why is it still relevant?

We all know the history, don’t we? The flight of the Irish from An Gorta Mór, The Great Hunger. Quite the inoffensive name for a genocide, isn’t it?

The perfect illustration of why you must know your history, and the not the manufactured fables of those who ‘control the narrative.’

A phrase that’s been worn out in recent times because apparently in certain communities, bigotry is not lessened over centuries. It becomes so ingrained in the hearts of the hateful, that it is established as a central pillar of their identity.

Core to their being, to the extent they would be personality free cyphers without it to embrace.

We all know that Celtic was born out of charity for these Irish immigrants fleeing almost certain death who arrived in Glasgow and, in the face of the strongest possible resistance, they existed for the main in abject poverty. Brother Walfrid, himself a native of Sligo, established the club for the maintenance of dinner tables for the children.

So, 174 years on from the end of the genocide and 138 years from the founding of Celtic, how is the process of integration going? How has the now well established, multi-generational, Irish diaspora been welcomed in Glasgow.

You’ll be unsurprised to learn that, after 174 years, there still appear to be some slight teething problems.

On this day around the world, the Irish, the descendants of the Irish, and those who rightly wish they were descendants of the Irish, celebrate that culture and history with parades and pints!

My own family wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for my great grandparents making their way from Belmullet. I decided over three decades ago to make my way back, and made my home in the North of Ireland.

My grandchildren are on the way here right now, and we’ll be off to a parade. Sure, you’re tripping over them around here.

Obviously, with such a strong Irish connection, the same would be true for Glasgow. Especially when you think of the endless number of cities around the world who celebrate St Patrick’s day and all that it entails.

You might be more than a bit surprised, I know I was, to learn that in the year 2026 Glasgow just had it’s second small St Patrick’s day parade in the East End.

Breathtaking when you consider the implications. Rather than celebrating it’s now well established Irish community, official Scotland has suppressed it. Rather than welcome its rich culture, official Glasgow has rejected it.

It’s always important to remember the old saying that although history doesn’t repeat itself, it often rhymes.

And by God, it echoes.

Echoes and reverberates around the stands of Ibrox. Where these bigots in their 90-minute safe space, indulge in virulent anti Irish racism.

They also indulge in unabashed sectarianism, which has become inextricably entwined with their racism, to the extent that most anti Catholic slurs have a distinct Irish flavour.

And now they have fully embraced anti-immigration rhetoric and racism across the board, just so they’re keeping the hatred up to date.

We simply cannot let this continue. Most folk that don’t follow football can just ignore this ongoing, open bigotry as it doesn’t obviously impact their lives. Plus, it’s a hassle trying to police it properly or resolve it because those who buy into it, do so with a ferocity that impacts all who dare to stand in opposition, so best just pretend it doesn’t exist, or move on as quickly as possible.

Celtic as a club must call it out publicly at every opportunity and every game when it happens. No more silence for fear of upsetting authorities or inflaming tensions. After 138 years, there’s enough evidence to categorically assert that this approach does not work. Celtic, in conjunction with the authorities they must clearly berate and embarrass into action, should be moving heaven and earth to ensure their fans do not have to tolerate this from the stands or on the streets.

Professor Sir Tom Devine has called for a national enquiry, due to the ongoing failure to address this poisonous and toxic hatred in the heart of Glasgow and beyond, but all aligned behind one new club. It must be cut out, root and branch. Those who embrace it openly and those who collude quietly to spread it in wider society.

Scotland’s shame.