King’s Park CSC…
The idea of forming a CSC had been around for some time, given the large fan base in the King’s Park area of Glasgow. A meeting was convened on May 21, 1984, in The Beechwood, where the club is still based. The club was named, a committee was elected, and a constitution was agreed upon, with membership closed at 72.
The club was registered with the CSA and remains a member to this day. Their first domestic trip away was to Dumbarton, the first and last trip with their newly appointed bus company, as it took nearly two hours to travel home as the bus could not progress up any slight incline on the road.
In their early years, winning the league at St Mirren’s Love Street was a great time to socialise and get to know other members and their families, especially with the free drinks on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. In their early years, they travelled to home and away matches as a club, sometimes staying over in Aberdeen, Arbroath, Laurencekirk, and Stonehaven.
Their first European trip was to Dublin, where they flew over and stayed in a city centre hotel. Prior to leaving the hotel, the committee warned them to be aware of pickpockets at the stadium, only for two of them to lose their wallets.
Their first European bus trip was to Ekeren, although they only took one bus. Demand was such that they could have run several. Their members have represented the club on many European trips through the years, travelling with other clubs to Bremen, Stuttgart, Barcelona, and nearer home to England, Wales, and Ireland. Their biggest European venture as a club was to Seville, where 92 supporters, under the name of their club, travelled with them to the cup final with memories never to be forgotten.
They have held many social nights as a club, including the centenary year dinner dance. Such were their funds in those days that each member was given two free tickets that covered their dinner and drinks all evening, and they even had guests from every decade going way back to the 1920s.
Over the years, they have donated to many local and national charities. One that was especially close to them was HCPT Lourdes, and every Easter Sunday, they held a fundraising event that was incredibly well supported.
Like many other CSCs, they have had many characters. Their bus convenor was always up to date with road works and delays on the away fixtures but always got them to whatever town or city by 11 a.m. One of their oldest members, who was hard of hearing, answered every question with ‘aye, a wee goldie.’
They have had many footballing celebrations as a CSC through the years, with Celtic winning more than 40 domestic honours since their inception in 1984. As Celtic struggled through the 1990s, so too did their supporters club, and by the time Celtic stopped Rangers from reaching 10 in a row, their supporter numbers had dwindled significantly.
They pulled together behind Fergus McCann’s revolution, and to this day, their club proudly retains a shareholding in Celtic. While their club now numbers around 20, including a couple of original members, their future is secure.
Financially, the global pandemic was a worrying time for the club, but such was the determination of their members to keep the club afloat, that they voted to pay their monthly dues even though they were unable to attend matches.
This has put them on a relatively good financial footing going forward, but they still rely on non-members to travel with them. They continue to run a bus to every home match, and they welcome the many non-members who travel with them to Celtic Park. It is regularly around 60.
Unfortunately, given the allocation of tickets for away fixtures, it is not possible to attend these fixtures as a CSC. However, The Beechwood is a regular ‘go-to’ place to watch the games. 2024 will see Kings Park CSC reach its 40th anniversary. They are looking forward to celebrating that milestone as they continue to follow Celtic to many more successful seasons ahead.
Many thanks to everyone who has travelled on the Kings Park CSC bus to Celtic Park during the season; we really appreciate your support. Have a great summer, we’ll do it all again from August! Hail Hail 🍀🏆🏆🏆🍀 pic.twitter.com/S8EHI5FhBn
— King’s Park CSC (@park_csc) June 4, 2023
David McIntyre – CelticBars.com
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. Watch the video in the Celtic World tweet below for some amazing facts on the Celtic support around the world.
Just before Christmas, David McIntyre from Celtic Bars was interviewed by Celtic TV about his Football Without Fans book. Here’s the video on Celtic TV’s You Tube channel . You can order a copy in print or kindle from Amazon regardless of where you are in the world. Order your copy HERE.
