The Celtic Star's Denis Connaghan Tribute

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The next year would prove to be the most frustrating of Denis’ career as he played third fiddle to Ally Hunter and Evan Williams, Jock Stein even dabbling with the option of Rosenborg’s giant goalkeeper Geir Karlsen at one point. That would all change due to an injury to Hunter and a recall for Williams in Basel in late February 1974. Celts lost 3-2 to the Swiss outfit in that first leg and Evan would never play in the first team again, Denis now the back-up to Ally Hunter. Within 10 days, the situation had come full cycle, another Hunter injury seeing Denis recalled for the difficult Scottish Cup quarter-final tie against Motherwell. He would not look back.

The rest of that season saw Denis fulfil his boyhood dream by winning silverware at Celtic. Nine-in-a-row was clinched at Brockville in April and the Scottish Cup was added seven days later with a 3-0 defeat of Dundee United at Hampden, Denis thus adding the senior version to the schoolboy one secured in his days at Holyrood a dozen years earlier. Football as always threw up a story, as the man who got the scoring underway at Hampden was his old school friend Harry Hood, who had so cruelly been robbed of his opportunity back in May 1962.

Denis also made his European playing debut in that period, turning out in the return leg against Basel before more than 70,000 spectators at Celtic Park. An extra-time Stevie Murray header took the Hoops into the semi-final draw, where they were paired with Spanish champions Atletico Madrid.

Three days after that Basel victory, Denis’ amazing 29-game unbeaten record between the Celtic posts finally ended at all places across the city at Firhill, where future Celtic star Ronnie Glavin scored twice in Partick Thistle’s 2-0 win, thus ruining my 13th birthday weekend!

The events of that infamous Atletico tie have been well documented, an evening which shamed football ending goalless, leaving Celts with it all to do in the cauldron of the Vicente Calderon a fortnight later. Despite the frenzy inside the stadium, Denis had the game of his life, defying the Spanish attack time after time before finally being beaten by two late strikes.

If being part of a Celtic side which won a League and Cup double whilst performing heroically at the very top level of European football was a career peak, Denis still had one or two tricks up his sleeve…literally. In the opening game of the new season, a Drybrough Cup tie against Airdrieonians at Broomfield, the big keeper conspired to throw the ball directly into his own net, having changed his mind at the last minute. Thankfully, Celtic were 4-1 up at the time and even Jock Stein was caught laughing at that one, but poor Denis never lived it down.

Nevertheless, the crazy life that is the lot of the goalkeeper was illustrated just seven days later, on Saturday, 3 August 1974, as Celtic faced Rangers at Hampden in the final of the same competition for the first time. Celtic twice led in the match before being pegged back to 2-2 at the end of extra-time, the dreaded penalty shootout required to settle the outcome. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, Denis saving spot kicks from both Derek Parlane and Tommy McLean, thus allowing Jimmy Johnstone to secure Celtic’s only success in that competition by blasting the ball home.

Denis would remain Jock Stein’s first-choice keeper until the defeat to Olympiakos in Piraeus in early October which ended Celtic’s hopes of European glory for another year. Ally Hunter would be between the posts against Dumbarton at Boghead three days later and Denis would make just one further appearance that season, a 1-0 victory over Morton at Cappielow on the final day of November 1974 as Hunter recovered from a bout of flu.

Time was now ticking on Denis’ Celtic career, almost two full years passing before he played his final two games for the club in a double-header League Cup quarter-final tie with Albion Rovers in the autumn of 1976. By that time, he had dropped behind Peter Latchford and Roy Baines to third choice, but he ended his first-team days with three consecutive clean sheets.

Denis would spend some time alongside Tommy Callaghan on loan at Clydebank before ending his senior career with spells at Morton and Clyde. His final playing days were then spent in Junior football with Arthurlie, fittingly squeezing in a farewell Hampden appearance in the Scottish Junior Cup final of 1981.There can’t be too many players who have appeared at the national stadium in the Scottish Cup finals at schools, junior and senior level, but then again Denis was a unique character.

A wonderful Celt and a gentleman, who lived the dream and who will be hugely missed.

God bless you, Denis.

Matt Corr