Johnny Doyle, ‘the man who loved the green’, was sadly taken from us in October 1981. A Celtic fan, whose commitment to the cause made him loved and got him into trouble in equal measure. It was he who was sent off during the 4-2 victory over Rangers in 1979 when ten men won the league. Doyle was also the centre of the most ridiculous red card in Scottish football history, when he was ordered off for accidentally kicking the ball at the referee when attempting to cross for a teammate!
There were many high points for the midfielder too, perhaps best of all was his superb headed goal against Real Madrid in the 1980 European Cup quarter final. The goal helped Celtic to defeat the Spanish giants by two goals to nil.
Since his passing, a song has been written and performed in his memory, by Charlie and the Bhoys. A book on Johnny Doyle is also being written by the editor of The Shamrock magazine with the assistance of Doyle’s daughter, Joanna. Whilst, a short story of his red card incident against Ayr Utd and his wider career features in Take Me To Your Paradise (Celtic book).
Despite the stories, songs, photographs and books; his daughter, Joanna, has never heard her Dad’s voice since he passed away. This fact is all the more tragic, considering that Joanna was so young when she lost her father, that she had no recollection of hearing him speak.
In an article for The Irish Voice newspaper, it was reported that Joanna had appealed to fans to get in touch if they had any footage of Johnny being interviewed as she had no real memory of hearing his voice. Joanna told the newspaper: “I am convinced there is something out there. Maybe the book will bring more attraction and I’ll be able to find something.”
That moment finally arrived yesterday when the following footage emerged, and Joanna was finally able to hear her father’s voice after 39 long years!
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