Pilgrimage to Lisbon – How I came to possess a piece of Billy McNeill’s jersey

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I was going to Lisbon I was going to travel on an Irish passport

I had another problem – I didn’t have a passport. For most people that would be easily resolved. In those days Britain charged 7/6 for a temporary travel document for short trips to parts of Europe. I didn’t want one of those, if I was going to Lisbon I was going to travel on an Irish passport.

A letter was dispatched to my Donegal-born mother in Greenock, requesting her birth certificate and marriage certificate. Three days later a reply came back saying that she did not have her birth certificate. Another letter was dispatched explaining how a copy could be obtained on application to the General Register Office in Dublin. After that all I could do was wait. I wasn’t too concerned as the final was still almost four weeks away.

Celtic went off to Prague

Celtic celebrations in Prague as Jock Stein’s side secure their place in the 1967 European Cup Final. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Meanwhile Celtic went off to Prague and played out a 0-0 draw to become the first British Club to reach the final of the European Cup. We were in business. The following day I again phoned Aer Lingus to enquire about chartering an aircraft, only to be told that none was available. The club committee considered its options and spoke with the owner of the coach company that we regularly used to take us to games in Glasgow.

Dukla Prague v Celtic — John Fallon leads the Celtic celebrations on the bench as Celtic reach the European Cup Final with a 0-0 draw away to Dukla Prague to give Celtic a 3-1 aggregate win. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Each paid up member could travel for £10

He came back to say that he could provide a 51-seat coach for £500. He would drive but because of the length of the journey he would need a second driver and Willie, our usual driver on the Glasgow run, was his choice. That meant that 50 fans could travel. The coach owner also told us that he could block book accommodation for one-night in Lisbon. When we added in the cost of the match ticket we decided to offer packages at £12.10.0 each. If we sold 50 packages we would break even. Actually the club had a healthy bank balance and it was decided that each paid up member could travel for £10.

The plan was to leave London on the evening of Monday, May 22 and travel to Southampton for the overnight car ferry to Le Havre. After that the details were a bit loose but we hoped to be in Lisbon before lunchtime on Thursday, in plenty of time for the 5:30pm kick-off. No one was too worried about the journey home but we did expect to be back in London in the early hours of the following Monday morning.