2025 marked a small anniversary in Celtic history – the 60th birthday of club newspaper, The Celtic View. This is the story of where Celtic supporters have got their Celtic news over the decades…
For years, the ‘View’ was a must-read for all Celtic fans. But it has not been the only way that Celtic fans have kept up-to-date with specific news and comments concerning their club. This article tells the story of the Celtic View, and all the other different ways that Celtic supporters have been able to find out about the Celts.
The driving force behind the original publication of the Celtic View came from Jack McGinn (grandfather of Scottish footballers John, Paul and Stephen McGinn). In later years, he became Celtic chairman but in the 1960s he was working in the newspaper industry.
The Celtic View – A Celtic response to the hostile mainstream media
McGinn believed that Celtic could successfully publish their own newspaper. The rationale behind this was two-fold. There was a commercial opportunity to make money, but there was also a belief that fans would want to find out more about Celtic and bypass the often negative coverage which normal newspapers included.
In many ways, the club could not have chosen a better time to start producing their own in-house newspaper. 1965 also coincided with the arrival of Jock Stein, and started a period of stratospheric success for the Hoops.
The name for this new newspaper was to be The Celtic View. It was first published on 11 August 1965, costing 4 pence. Its first front cover was a mixture of pictures, stories and also adverts. One of the stories explained the purpose of the ‘paper whilst the main story described Celtic boss Jock Stein’s decision to also work as Scotland manager.
