Football Without Fans – Rothesay Glen Daly CSC

Rothesay Glen Daly CSC…

After numerous requests from supporters from Rothesay, Tommy McNally and Gerry McGuigan (members of the previous Isle of Bute CSC) decided to call a meeting in the Galatea Bar in July 1989 to see what kind of interest there was in forming a club.

They were overwhelmed by the number of people who came that night, and it was agreed that a new club should be formed, and a date was set for an AGM. It was decided that the club was to be founded in 1989/90, and after much discussion, Glen Daly was put forward as a club name because of his long association with Rothesay.

This was where he appeared regularly in the Winter Gardens, and this was the town to which he retired to. The fact remained that generations of Celtic fans having learned that it was ‘A grand old team to play for’ and support was because of him. His widow was approached for her permission to name the CSC after Glen, and she was delighted for his name to be used.

A competition was organised for members to design a club badge, with the winner, Craig Charker, being offered a choice of one of the first jumpers made or a pair of match tickets to a match of his choice. Craig chose the former. Two people that made life a lot easier in the infancy of the club were Glen’s son, Terry Dick, who knew all the right people to speak to, and James ‘Flax’ Flaherty, who was a friend of some of the members of the old club. He managed to get them as many tickets as they needed.

Over the years, the club has organised several dances, social nights, and fund-raisers, both for the CSC and for local charities with the most prominent one being in 1991, when they organised a dinner dance to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of ‘The Celtic Song.’

This was attended by Davie Provan, Davie Hay, and Paul McStay, who was presented with a large, engraved mirror, which was displayed on the main staircase at Celtic Park until a few years ago but is now in storage.

The following day, the weather was atrocious, and the main ferry was off. Paul McStay was supposed to meet up with the Scotland camp on the Sunday morning, but due to having to go the long way around, he was several hours late and only just made it in time for their flight.

Another was a fund-raiser for the club in 1990 held in the Glenburn Hotel, where the star act was none other than Frank Carson. Other players, ex-players, and VIP’s to attend functions include Bobby Murdoch, Tommy Burns, Bertie Auld, Kevin Kelly, Tosh McKinlay, Jim Craig, Charlie Gallagher, Peter Latchford, Pat Bonner (one of the club’s honorary members,) John Fallon, the local MP Brendan O’Hara (whose great-grandfather was one of the founding fathers of the club,) Lex Baillie, and Dariusz Wdowczyk.

For the bulk of their history, they were residents of the Galatea Bar, but due to a change in management, they have been homeless for the last few years.

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.

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