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“Walfrid was the key man, more than deserving of his statue outside Celtic Park”

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Born in Ballymote, South Sligo, in 1840; Brother Walfrid’s real name was Andrew Kerins. The son of dedicated Catholics, John Kerins and Elizabeth Flynn, Andrew studied teaching and joined The Marist Brothers Teaching Congregation in 1864. It was not long before he moved to Glasgow, making the trip across the Irish sea on a coal ship.

Upon arriving in the Dear Green Place, he began teaching at St Mungo’s Academy in Townhead, where he tutored many of the future founding fathers of Celtic. He was a major player in the local Irish community and as an academic, he was very interested in playing his part in the Gaelic cultural revival that was being experienced by Ireland and her diaspora. Indeed, Walfrid established a literary society for local Irish linguists. He also took a keen interest in local Irish friendly societies and enjoyed listening to music that was Nationalist in nature.

On 13 May 1870, having previously been the protégé of Brother Procope, Walfrid was promoted to an assistant teaching position and was transferred to St. Mary’s School. Four years later, he was appointed Headmaster of the newly opened Sacred Heart School in Bridgeton. Then, in mid-1877, another Marist Brother, Dorotheus, joined St. Mary’s to fill the Headmaster position that he had left behind. Despite managing his own institution, Walfrid was still sent to teach in the school and the working relationship that grew between the pair was to prove pivotal in the development of The Poor Children’s Dinner and Breakfast Tables.

Establishing the Penny Dinner Scheme in 1884

Ten years into the role as Headmaster of Sacred Heart, Brother Walfrid was increasingly faced with a trio of issues – the appalling social conditions of Glasgow, a lack of school attendance and Catholic children converting their faith due to proselytism within Protestant ran soup kitchens. Walfrid identified the school’s attendance record as his primary concern, as with greater attendance the government increased the funding that it donated to each educational institution. A rise in government grants would mean that he, as a lead member of the St Vincent De Paul Society, could then seek to tackle wider issues with greater resources.

The ‘Penny Dinner Scheme’ was one of the projects that Walfrid established in the hope that children would be encouraged to attend school in order to enjoy a substantial meal. The payment of a penny was a suggested token to avoid embarrassment for parents who may feel a loss of pride at being seen to depend on charity, although payment was never compulsory. To acquire premises for serving these school dinners, Brother Walfrid approached the local St Vincent De Paul Conference for assistance. The Society obliged, renting a shop property behind Sacred Heart School, in Savoy Street. The shop was turned into a makeshift kitchen and was to be the first location used to provide food for The Poor Children’s Dinner and Breakfast Tables.

Brother Walfrid worked closely with his confrere, Brother Dorotheus, who headed St. Mary’s Catholic School in the Calton district of the city. Taking over a disused blacksmith in the school yard, Dorotheus also set up the ‘Penny Dinner Scheme’ for pupils at St. Mary’s. As the year progressed, the scheme’s success rocketed to such an extent that it became challenging to continue to satisfy the increasing demand, and other initiatives needed to be explored to sustain benefit for the children.

A mark of the problematic overgrowth of the scheme was that Sacred Heart provided 48,500 dinners and 1,150 breakfasts in its debut year. Added to this huge level of service was the fact that the school capacity had quadrupled and was to educate over 1,200 pupils for the school year of 1886. Similarly, St. Mary’s started the first six months of 1886 by serving 26,421 meals to students, 17,707 of which were free of charge. Rather than make the suggested donation of a penny compulsory, the decision was made to reach out to other aspects of social assistance.

Walfrid sets up football teams

The Marist Brothers soon branched into football having seen the enjoyment that not only their pupils, but the working-class people of Britain had got from playing the sport. The pair set up youth football leagues for former and current pupils of each school, whilst Walfrid also founded a few teams of his own, which were associated with his other community organisations, including one outfit born from the literary society that he had developed for local Irish linguists.

The rapid growth of football attendances, particularly at Edinburgh Hibernians matches, led Walfrid and Dorotheus to spot a fundraising opportunity. Indeed, Walfrid had already invited Edinburgh Hibernians to travel to the east end of Glasgow on 26 September 1885, where a reserve team fulfilled a charity game against a junior club named Glasgow Hibernian. After that match, the Edinburgh side were fed and entertained by the St Vincent De Paul Society at St. Mary’s Church Hall.

The initial match had been disappointing. On the park, Edinburgh Hibernians won 6-0 and off it a small amount of money had been raised. Undeterred, it was on a balmy mid-May afternoon in 1886, that Brother Walfrid managed to get Harp of Dundee, one of approximately 40 Irish teams in Scotland at the time, to accept Clyde’s invitation of a charity match at their former home pitch – Barrowfield Park.

Harp of Dundee stole the win with a late goal to make the score line 2-1 in their favour. This time the match’s fundraising success was resounding. All proceeds from the event went towards The Poor Children’s Dinner and Breakfast Tables, which was the charity within which the ‘Penny Dinner Scheme’ operated. Therefore, it was fitting that both teams were invited to Sacred Heart School for a post-match meal.

The Marists organised a further match on 18 September 1886, with Walfrid’s Eastern Rovers visiting Glengarry Park to face a St Peter’s Parish team that he had also formed, named Columba (St Columba brought and preached Catholicism to the Scottish Highlands). Funds continued to roll in thanks to a crowd of over 1,000 on that occasion.

Interestingly, John Glass (who would later become the founding father who Willie Maley claimed Celtic owe their existence) had formed a club named Eastern Hibernian, who also locked horns with Columba in this period, thus bringing Walfrid, Dorotheus and Glass together within the footballing arena.

Another team of note at this time was Western Hibernians, who played in exhibition matches and were also instituted to The Poor Children’s Dinner and Breakfast Tables. The Western Hibernians donned white shirts, black shorts and green and black hooped socks. In an exhibition match in February 1888, they fielded no fewer than seven of the 11 players who would play in Celtic’s first match three months later!

The very initial seeds of Celtic were sewn with the success of Walfrid’s aforementioned charity match between Harp of Dundee and Clyde. Walfrid was the main organiser, the one with the ideas behind founding the Poor Children’s Dinner & Breakfast Tables and the main main in terms of founding football clubs. Yet Dorotheus followed him every step of the way, acting as an assistant and carrying through the ideas with his great friend. Make no mistake, these charity matches, which supported their Penny Dinner scheme were very important ingredients in the establishment of Celtic Football Club.

Hibernian’s Scottish Cup triumph and the comments subsequently made at the reception held in celebration at St Mary’s Church Hall, which Walfrid and Dorotheus were both present at, also played a big part. The Glasgow Irish were encouraged to “Go and do likewise,” (form a major Irish football club) that day by Hibernian Secretary, John McFadden. Dr John Conway led the victory speeches and responded to the suggestion by saying to his peers: “Glasgow Irishmen, we can emulate the Hibernian’s example not only in social but in political matters too, so that the goal of every Irishman’s ambition – legislative independence of his country – will soon be attained.”

The idea behind Celtic was in place among a prestigious few in Glasgow Irish circles, yet a final event confirmed the notion of a football club being formed for charitable purposes in the minds of the Marists.

Walfrid’s Confirmation

A charity exhibition match was organised at Glengarry Park on 26 May 1887. This time it was evident that Brother Walfrid and an embryonic committee of men, who would go on to found Celtic, were behind the match. The organisation was much better than previous charity games in Bridgeton. A trophy had been offered up to the winner, which enabled the clash to be labelled ‘The East End Catholic Charity Cup’. A major coup was also secured, when the competing teams were announced as Edinburgh Hibernians and Renton. The magnitude of this contest should not be understated, for Hibernian were Scottish Cup holders, whilst Renton held the Glasgow Merchant’s Charity Cup (the cup committee invited some teams located on the periphery of Glasgow to compete) and Dunbartonshire Cup trophies.

The improved planning paid off when 12,000 fans paid entry to the fixture, a larger crowd than that which attended the Scottish Cup Final three months earlier! The score finished 1-1, meaning a replay and another pay day beckoned. The replay was penciled in for the beginning of the new season, on 6 August 1887. A reduced, yet respectable crowd of 4,000 arrived excited at what lay in store. They weren’t disappointed as Neil McCallum, who would go on to score Celtic’s first ever goal, struck the net five times in a 6-0 win for Renton.

Following the match, the Renton and Hibernian parties were cordially invited to the Sacred Heart Boys Club for a post-match reception. There, it was revealed that the combined crowds of 16,000 over the course of the two games, had raised some £120 (equivalent of £15,000 in today’s money) which was primarily donated to The Poor Children’s Dinner and Breakfast Tables, but was also dispersed among charities in Edinburgh and West Dunbartonshire.

The Sacred Heart parish had witnessed a revolution of football for good. The football became a leather tool introduced to local school playgrounds as a means of encouraging educational attendance, whilst the charitable fundraising power of the sport had confirmed the convictions of those behind the foundation of Celtic. From this point, nothing could stop the founding of Celtic Football Club.

Walfrid as the leading founder

Brother Walfrid was the organiser who took all the important steps which preceded founding the club. He started the penny dinner scheme within the Poor Children’s Dinner and Breakfast Tables. He arranged the charity football matches when demand became an issue and he brought all the characters necessary to form a successful Irish football club together. His work, with Dorotheus’ help, demonstrated to others that they had the capabilities to produce an Irish football club which could not only be the stand-out one of its kind in Glasgow, but that it could also raise significant funds to ease the poverty within their local community.

During preliminary meetings to establish Celtic, Walfrid had proposed that the focus of the fundraising should be on three Catholic parishes in the East End of the city. Almost all of the founding fathers had connections in these communities and, after discussion, the churches would be on board following one parish withdrawing from the project. This is reflected in the club’s first circular:

The main objective of the Celtic Football Club is to supply the East End conferences of the St Vincent De Paul Society with funds for the maintenance of the “Dinner Tables” of our needy children in the missions of St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart and St. Michaels. Many cases of sheer poverty are left unaided through lack of means. It is therefore with this principle object that we have set afloat the “Celtic”, and we invite you as one of our ever-ready friends to assist in putting our new park in proper working order the coming football season. 

Brother Walfrid colour photo

Giving the name Celtic

The identity of Celtic was reflected in its founding members, it’s early patrons and public campaigns. However, the club needed a suitable name. At the inaugural meeting to set afloat the club in November 1887, the name suggested was Celtic, a suggestion made by Brother Walfrid.

There are many theories as to why the name was chosen. Some speculate that it was to reflect a blend of Scottish and Irish cultural integration, but there is no evidence to suggest this and Celtic was very much established as a club with an Irish identity in the beginning. Another theory suggests that Celtic was more Irish in its connotation than Scottish. This idea stems from the fact that other Irish clubs in Scotland such as Partick Celtic used the name, but likewise ‘The Celts’ was a name initially suggested for Queen’s Park and they were a Scottish establishment team.

The more likely scenario is that Walfrid chose the name to be a little more subtle than the likes of Hibernian, who faced a tough time from the SFA and Scottish media because of their overtly Irish title. Indeed, Walfrid put the name Celtic up against the suggestion of Glasgow Hibernian. When Celtic was passed, Hibernian’s Secretary, John McFadden was critical. In The Scottish Umpire newspaper, on 7 August 1888, McFadden said: “Patriotic Irishmen, truly, the Celtic and its supporters; patriotic Irishmen indeed who, in order to raise the name of Celts – a name which may cover Welsh, Highland Scotch, French, and all the nations of that family – dealt as they thought, and by means which are apparent to everybody, a death blow to the Hibernian club.”

Regardless of the reasoning behind the name, one thing beyond doubt is that Walfrid intended for Celtic to be pronounced with a K (Keltic). He maintained this pronunciation until his death, despite the fact that most people referred to the club in the current way, Celtic with a soft C (Seltic). In 1909, Tom Maley wrote in the Glasgow Observer that the current pronunciation is a result of the supporters mispronouncing the name, which just stuck. Due to lack of evidence, this comment has never been challenged. Though, it does seem bizzare given that multiple Irish organisations bearing the word Celtic, were all pronounced with a K.

Life after Celtic

Walfrid was heavily involved with the club he played such a great role in founding. Celtic were a huge success, raising funds he could only dream of for his Penny Dinner Scheme and Poor Children’s Dinner and Breakfast Tables, among other Catholic charities. In sporting terms, the Bhoys were performing superbly for such a young club too.

Talks to change the financial status of club were soon underway. The old guard of Walfrid et al were very much against this. The concept of the club they created for charitable causes being taken away from its roots was unthinkable. However, Walfrid would leave the club before the shift in status came about when his Church superiors transferred him to London in August 1892.

In the English capital, Walfrid continued his work combining football with charity. He set up football matches for the barefoot children in Bethnal Green and Bow. Meanwhile, he also took charge of a school and worked to reduce crime in his very deprived area. Beyond those domains, Brother Walfrid immersed himself in community organisations and even set up a Marist Brother Sanctuary at Ferry Grove in Kent.

An attempt by the traditionalists to influence the committee took effect in 1893, when at the AGM, they read out a message from Brother Walfrid. In the letter, Walfrid assured the club members that he gave his continued support and had sincere interest in the club from afar. The thought of Brother Walfrid keeping an eye on the club he was the main founder of, was enough to halt the process of limited liability taking effect for the time being.

Walfrid’s support of Celtic never wavered whilst living in England, even after limited liability status was secured. Indeed, he met the Celtic team and delegation in London, on their return from a continental tour, after the club had gone down the limited company route. Walfrid appears to have accepted the direction of the club, knowing that whilst it didn’t totally encompass the values he envisioned, it was a necessity for survival. He also understood that the charitable heritage would be carried forth by the supporters. Tom Maley recorded Brother Walfrid’s words of the day: “Well, well. Time has brought changes. Outside of ourselves there are a few left of the old brigade. It’s good to see you all so well and I feel younger with the meeting. Goodbye, God bless you.”

Brother Walfrid passed away in Dumfries on 17 April 1915. He was buried in Mount St Michael Cemetery, where a commemoration was recently held by the club and Celtic Graves Society. Every Celtic fan owes the club’s ethos and values to him and has to be thankful for him leading the way in terms of founding the club. Other founding fathers should not be forgotten, but Walfrid was the key man, more than deserving of his statue outside Celtic Park. It could only be argued that John Glass held the same level of importance in terms of bringing Celtic Football Club to fruition.

Liam Kelly

  • Read more on Celtic’s founding fathers, early stars and first ever season in The Celtic Star’s best-seller Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys. We have very few copies of this book remaining – already into our last box – so if you want to order a copy just click on the image below. Liam Kelly writes the section on the Founding Fathers, David Potter cover the Early Celtic Stars while Matt Corr takes us though that crucial first season in the life of Celtic Football Club.

About Author

The Celtic Star founder and editor, who has edited numerous Celtic books over the past decade or so including several from Lisbon Lions, Willie Wallace, Tommy Gemmell and Jim Craig. Earliest Celtic memories include a win over East Fife at Celtic Park and the 4-1 League Cup loss to Partick Thistle as a 6 year old. Best game? Easy 4-2, 1979 when Ten Men Won the League. Email editor@thecelticstar.co.uk

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