West London CSC…
Founded in 1996 by Davie Cameron, Shug Mooney, Noel McNaboe, Pat Friel, Davie Speirits, John McIlroy, Kevin O’Hora, and Pat Brusnahan in the New Inn in Brentford. They founded the club because they felt that they wanted to be a bigger part of what was happening under Fergus McCann and get greater and easier access to match tickets.
Since the club was founded, the two different pubs they were based in were New Inn and, latterly, the Royal Horse Guardsman. They were homeless for a while when the New Inn was taken over by a new owner, and the Royal Horse Guardsman had not yet been bought by Noel McNaboe. Noel ran the New Inn and was one of the co-founders and they had many floating pubs during that period, mainly Connolly’s in Chiswick.
Brendan Connolly, the owner, still attends the Guardsman for live games. Many of their co-founders remain not only members but still come down to watch Celtic. Their club was the second CSC in London after the London No.1 CSC. From their club, other CSCs were formed, like Hayes Bhoys, Spirit of 67, and many more. In the days prior to Sky being beamed into every home in Britain, there would be as many as 300 in the New Inn for an Old Firm game.
Like almost every other CSC worldwide, they headed to Seville in 2003, where they took 27 members, of whom 25 got tickets. Their accommodations ranged from sleeping in a hotel bath, to lying on top of a marble slab on the carefully manicured grounds. In 2008, they had a club trip to Helsingborg to see Henrik Larsson and they had a special meeting for about 45 minutes with the man. On that occasion, Helsingborgs IF played Halmstad BK and won 9-0, which was their highest-scoring victory and also saw them go into Europe the following year. It was agreed by all members that the ‘Henke trip’ was their best trip in the club’s history to date.
They have supported many charities over the years, all of them local to the area, usually young people’s charities, but not exclusively. These include: Mencap, Richmond Young Carers, Children to Lourdes, Cerebral Palsy, Sick Children, Omagh Fund, Western Infirmary in Glasgow, Marie Curie, Age Concern, Lindon Bennett School for autistic children, and Our Barn (encouraging disabled people to participate in sport and other activities.)
Probably the most famous star to grace and actually be part of their club, albeit for a very short time, was Rod Stewart. He agreed to be their honorary president when they were invited along to The One Show by The BBC to make Rod ‘feel at home.’ It was very clear when talking to him that he was a great fan of Broony and Gordon Strachan.
Champions Huddle at West London CSC 💚💚 pic.twitter.com/01p7pg91n4
— West London Celtic Supporters Club (@WstLondonCSC) May 7, 2023
The CSC were asked to appear on Sky with Chris Sutton, who was doing his favourite XI players he had played with or against. That was a good night, and Noel got to meet his all-time favourite player too. They were on Channel 4 as well with Christian O’Connell before the UEFA Cup match with Liverpool. Alan Thompson paid them a visit one night after doing a stint for Sky, which was just up the road from their club. On another occasion, Paolo Nutini dropped in for a drink.
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 from Football Without Fans this week on The Celtic Star, the Celtic supporters website. Will it be your CSC that’s featured?
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