One of the earliest references to the Celtic support singing at all comes from a 1911 encounter with Hibernian. The instance in question stems from a report that fans of both clubs shocked the establishment by singing God Save Ireland in unison!
Almost two decades prior to that match, T.D. Sullivan, MP and composer of the ballad, witnessed his first ever Celtic game. He was feted by the club, cheered by the players and, in turn, sang a verse of his song. He had already performed the song for the faithful on the opening of the new Celtic Park in August 1892, at the club’s third annual sports day.
God Save Ireland, which remembers the Manchester Martyrs, would prove an unofficial anthem for the support. Such is the importance of the song to Celtic’s history, it had also been sang at the very reception in which the idea of forming Celtic was instilled in 1887.
It wasn’t commonplace for football fans to sing songs on the terraces in the early 1900s. The Celtic faithful had done so before, but tended to reserve most of their vocal celebrations for the Brake Club journeys to matches and at post match receptions in pubs or church halls. This reference to the fans singing in 1911 is not only intriguing as it shows an example of the faithful doing what they do best, but it was a song of such significance to boot.
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