Creetown and District CSC…
Founded in 2002 by Eddie McGaw. After years of travelling by car, the idea was first mooted at Tom Boyd’s testimonial game.
It was not until 2002, when Celtic played Ajax in a friendly, that they met up with fellow Celtic fans from the neighbouring Gatehouse of Fleet. Both sets of fans had travelled by car, and they decided to start up a CSC to accommodate both areas. The first game was Celtic vs. Livingston. They started off with a minibus but now run a full-sized bus 75% of the time. In the last 20 years, excluding the pandemic, they have only missed 5 games where they never ran a bus but still had members travel by car. They have about 80 members.
They are not based in a bar but have pick-up points in Gatehouse, Castle Douglas, Dumfries, and Lockerbie. Honorary presidents include Jimmy Johnstone, Joe McBride, and Bertie Auld. Their club flag is a well-known sight in the upper corner of the Jock Stein Stand. This is actually their second flag. The original was stolen when Celtic played Banik Ostrava in July 2022 during a pre-season game in Austria.
They recently celebrated their 20th anniversary, which was at Celtic Park. Guests included Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay from the Celtic FC Board, Tom Boyd, Rudi and Rocco Vata, John Paul Taylor, Fran Alonso, Kelly Clark, and Caitlin Hayes from the Celtic women’s team.
They also hosted Jimmy Johnstone’s wife, Agnes. Over the years, they have held numerous functions, which have attracted names like Tommy Gemmell, Dixie Deans, Bobby Lennox, Evan Williams, John Fallon, John Hartson, Chris Sutton, and Alan McInally.
Over the years, they have been to numerous European away games, including the infamous trip to Barcelona in 2008 with the Saltmarket CSC bus, where they got stranded in the Pyrenees during a blizzard. They had to sleep on the bus in freezing conditions.
Help finally arrived after they phoned emergency services in Scotland, who alerted a French mountain rescue team. However, they then had to trek more than a mile through snow to the nearest town and safety. This was easier said than done, as they were wearing jogger bottoms and t-shirts. Their story made the national newspapers.
In the 2022 Champions’ League Group, they took about 10 to Madrid, eight to Leipzig, and five to Warsaw for the Donetsk match. Owen Halliday, Eddie McGaw, Davie Ewart, Liam King, Lloyd Kingstree, Megan Whalen, and Stevie Kingstree, to name a few.
They do a lot of charity work, mostly through Eddie McGaw, who founded Project Nakuru, a charity that aims to visit Kenya every year and help out the children. Over the years, they have helped over 2,000 children receive an education. David’s granddaughter, Murren, also raised a lot of money for the local cancer unit at the hospital when she did a sponsored shave of her head. They have also raised funds for Prince of Wales Hospice and Motor Neurone Disease in honour of Jinky.
Creetown & District CSC. They are there every game. We all see their flag every game. All the best Bhoys. pic.twitter.com/C4903Sb8BI
— Celticbars (@celticbars) May 1, 2022
An extract from Football Without Fans – The History of Celtic Supporters Clubs by David McIntyre (Celtic Bars). Football Without Fans – The History of Celtic Supporters Clubs is out now and available in print and kindle versions HERE.
More to follow from Football Without Fans on The Celtic Star, the Celtic supporters website. Will it be your CSC that’s featured?
You can order a copy in print or kindle from Amazon where ever you are in the world. Order your copy HERE
