On April 17, 1915 Brother Walfrid passed away.
The Marist Brothers reported his passing with these words,
“Frère Walfrid est mort. Je perds en lui un vrai père !
Que de services il m’a rendus et avec quelle affectueuse charité !’’ (Avril 25, 1915).
“Brother Walfrid is dead.
In losing him, I lost a true father.
How many things he did for me… and with what loving kindness!”
A Father figure then and an inspirational father figure now, 100 years after his death.
Walfrid’s role in the founding of the Celtic was key. Not only did he achieve his aim of funding the Poor Children’s Dinner tables to feed the hungry of the East End, he also brought together visionaries who ensured that Celtic would have a lasting impact on football and society in Glasgow and far beyond.
Poverty and hunger are still in evidence in both the East End of Glasgow and beyond. To mark the 100th anniversary of Walfrid’s passing Celtic, its charitable arm, Celtic FC Foundation, and Celtic supporters groups will pay their own tribute to Brother Walfrid on April 15.
To support the principles upon which Walfrid founded the club, Celtic supporters will be having a food collection to support the work of Foodbanks in and around the West of Scotland.
On Wednesday April 15 when Celtic play at home to Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership, Celtic supporters are invited to bring items requested by the Foodbanks.
As well as being supported by Celtic FC, the collection is backed by the following Celtic fans groups and forums:
Affiliation Of Registered Celtic Supporters Clubs, AICSC, Celtic Graves Society, CelticMinded, Celtic Quick News, Celtic Supporters Association, Celtic Trust, Celtic Underground, Etims, Hail Hail Media, Green Brigade, Huddleboard, The Kano Foundation and Kerrydale Street,.
Under the banner of Walfrid’s Legacy, the supporters groups and forums have released the following statement: “100 years after the passing of Brother Walfrid there is still hunger and need in our communities.
“Walfrid’s vision was the formation of a successful football club based on the core principle of the alleviation of poverty in our society.”
“Walfrid’s legacy is a thriving Celtic Football Club with a support fundamentally committed to his ideals of supporting those in need locally, nationally and far beyond national borders. “
“To honour Walfrid and his ideals we would urge all Celtic supporters able to attend the match against Kilmarnock on April 15 to bring a donation for the foodbanks we are supporting.”
In addition to the food collection on April 15, on April 17 Celtic FC and Celtic FC Foundation will mark the 100th anniversary of Walfrid’s passing by hosting a lunch for 500 individuals from the city’s homeless community in the Number 7 restaurant in Celtic Park.
Peter Lawwell, Celtic FC Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to be working with our supporters on this magnificent initiative. So many years after our formation, Celtic continues to be very well aware of its continued social responsibility and the club does more charitable work now than ever before. “We are proud that Brother Walfrid’s spirit remains so strong at Celtic and through such initiatives we will continue to honour the ambitions of the club’s founders and make a positive difference to the lives of people in need.”
Tony Hamilton, CEO of Celtic FC Foundation, added: “The phrase ‘more than a football club’ rings true with this joint approach from the Club, its supporters and its charitable arm. The story of Celtic, as seen by our Founding Father, is alive and well today more than 125 years after our formation and I hope that both of these events will be supported.”
We would urge fans to brings donations of the following items.
- Sugar (500g)
- Fruit juice (carton)
- Soup , Pasta sauces, Tomatoes (tinned)
- Cereals
- Tea Bags/instant coffee
- Rice/pasta
- Tinned meat/fish, Tinned fruit
- Jam, Biscuits or snack bars
Donations will be collected on The Celtic Way by volunteers from the Celtic support.
The aim of the collection is specifically for food items as detailed above.
The collection will benefit a number of Foodbanks including, Loaves and Fishes, Coatbridge Foodbank and Hamilton Food Drop among others.
Any cash donations will be passed to Celtic FC Foundation lunch for our homeless citizens on April 17 and the charities they are supporting. Details here http://www.celticfc.net/news/7921
November 1887
“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”
@walfridslegacy
189 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- »
BBC report of the 3-3 game:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/15226287
In 1888 life expectancy in East End of Glasgow was about 42 for men; by 2008 it had risen to 54.
Kingoh;
My belated condolences mate.
Cheers Kit.
Killie away 3-3 game.
Although the players pulled it out the hat in the second half, a mention has to be made about the support who were magnificent that day.
Kit,
He wasn’t in the squad.
Frankmarker,
Doh. Forgot about the dons game. Cheers
HH
If you are interested:
Neil Lennon’s Final Season at Celtic
Dontbrattbakkinanger
15:56 on
8 April, 2015
In 1888 life expectancy in East End of Glasgow was about 42 for men; by 2008 it had risen to 54.
—————-
risen by 12 years expenctancy over 140 years, good grief.
and still the lowest expenctancy in UK ?
maybe even europe ?
and less than baghdad ?
Scott Brown
Missed first 10 competitive games of season
4 league
6 champions league
Geordie Munro:
Well, in the end, it ended well.
Did you remember he wasn’t in the squad that day?
The IRA attempted to free some republican prisoners at the same spot, (Edited)
BCW
Do you know the date that this happened?
Mulgrew had a chance with a header late on v Killie I think….
The charitable foundation and continued commitment to that foundation is one big reason why this is a distinctly special football club.
I was behind the goal that we were shooting into in the 2nd half at that Kilmarnock game.
Kitalba I think you are right. We had a chance to score again just before the end and I think it was Samaras who had the chance.
Then Kilmarnock went straight up the other end and heffernan missed an absolute sitter to ensure it finished a draw.
Later that afternoon the Huns lost 1-2 at home to St Mirren. What seemed like an awful day at 1.15pm had transformed into a decent day by 5pm.
Wanyama came on for Kayal at half time and along with Forrest and stokes was immense. Mulgrew had had an awful first half but made up for it by scoring the equaliser.
The fans who stayed with Celtic that day were amazing.
Our next visit to Rugby Park was the league clinching 6-0 game where even Glenn Loovens scored!
Football is indeed a funny old game sometimes.
gary heid caldwell interview there on sky ……….
i nearly fell aff ma chair at this opening gem …….
“anyone who saw me play , knows that i was a defender that doesnt take risks”
deluded fool
THOMTHETHIM
Is that the one from 1921?
Start of May,I think.
Oops memory playing tricks on me, think it was Mulgrew not Samaras who had the late chance at rugby park in oct 2011
thomthethim for Oscar OK
16:05 on
8 April, 2015
The IRA attempted to free some republican prisoners at the same spot, (Edited)
BCW
Do you know the date that this happened?
—————-
its all in here, brilliant read, i just loaned to my brother in law or i would have quoted the date
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Irish-The-Remarkable-Saga-of-a-Nation-and-a-City-by-John-Burrowes/391021926258?_trksid=p2054897.c100204.m3164&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140407115239%26meid%3D7196ee7ef99042299a89654ad16a2ce1%26pid%3D100204%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D29%26sd%3D351260716458
sorry for breaking the link
Irish: The Remarkable Saga of a Nation and a City
by John Burrowes
4.43 of 5 stars 4.43 · rating details · 7 ratings · 1 review
Irish tells the story of how Glasgow would not have become the powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution, had it not been for the labors and skills of the tens of thousands of Irish who flooded in during and following the Great Famine. Nor would there have been the legendary Rangers and Celtic had it not been for the arrival of those hard-pressed immigrants, and the real story of the formation of the two clubs is just one of the many episodes uncovered here. The harrowing experiences and suffering of so many throughout Ireland during the Great Famine is brought home, as are the privations faced and sacrifices made by those fleeing impoverished Ireland on board overcrowded, tiny vessels.
St Stivs – lowest life expectancy in the ‘developed’ World.
An indictment of politics, rather than medicine.
FIFA instructs IFA to deduct 6 points from Ashdod FC for not paying money on #Celtics Efe Ambrose deal @celticrumours
dontbrattbakkinanger
15:56 on 8 April, 2015
In 1888 life expectancy in East End of Glasgow was about 42 for men; by 2008 it had risen to 54
==============
If I had not left the Calton in 1967 I’d be deid by noo.
High Noon on High Street: The Story of a Daring Ambush by the IRA in Glasgow in 1921
This is the first complete account of the dramatic attempt by the Irish Republican Army to rescue their comrade Brigadier Frank Carty from a prison van as he was being conveyed to Duke Street Prison in Glasgow on 4th May 1921. In the gunfight, Inspector Johnston was killed and his colleague Detective Sergeant Stirton of Glasgow police was seriously wounded. The wave of arrests that followed the failed rescue bid included that of a Catholic priest, Father Patrick MacRory and resulted in rioting on the streets of Glasgow and the army being called in. Well researched and very readable, this sympathetic account of the rescue attempt is set firmly in the context of the Anglo Irish War which was then at its height. It sheds light on a badly neglected aspect of Irish and Scottish history and is told with drama, pathos and politics in equal measure.
———————
By Stephen Coyle on 20 Dec. 2008
Format: Paperback
This long-awaited book High Noon on High Street by Stephen Coyle centres on a sensational daylight attempt by IRA Volunteers to rescue their comrade Brigadier Frank Carty from a prison van on High Street, Glasgow on May 4, 1921.
The prisoner was being taken from the Courthouse to Duke Street prison under armed escort. Officers of the Crown accompanying the prisoner had been given orders prior to departure not to shoot unless under attack. To this day it remains unclear as to who fired the first shot but a gun-battle ensued and the citizens of Glasgow scattered for cover, unaware of what was happening.
Within minutes Inspector Robert Johnson lay dead and Detective Sergeant George Stirton had suffered an injury to his wrist, incapacitating him. In the event Johnson’s killing was accidental when one of the Volunteers shot into the lock because it would not be forced open. As revolver fire continued the Volunteers were forced to disperse.
A wide net was cast in the search for those responsible and a wave of arrests followed shortly which included a Catholic priest Fr Patrick McRory. His arrest outraged the citizens of Glasgow and there was much rioting in the city. Two Volunteers, Éamonn and Seaghan Mooney, eluded capture until much later when they were arrested in Edinburgh before the IRB could get them out of Scotland and into the United States.
The ambush of the prison van was a huge story at the time as to how an event such as this could happen on the main street of Glasgow in the middle of the day. The Glasgow Herald editorial the following day gives an insight into the thinking of `Empire’ when it reported at length that the IRA ambush was a `Sinn Féin atrocity’.
There are parallels with the Manchester Martyrs and the Fenian attempt to carry out a similar rescue with unfortunate tragic consequences fifty-four years earlier. Three men, Allen, Larkin and O’Brien paid with their lives on very dubious evidence.
The May, 1921 rescue attempt in Glasgow became known as the `Smashing of the Van’ and a song about the event is recorded in this book along with many other ballads. The book contains the transcript of the trial of those involved, or allegedly involved, in the ambush, the historic background, the arrests, trial and aftermath.
Many photographs, not seen before, newspaper articles and biographies of some of the Volunteers are included in this extremely well-researched book. We catch a glimpse too of the political and social movements that were in vogue in Scotland [James Connolly’s socialism had a huge following] and elsewhere in the early twentieth century. There are ties that have always bound Ireland and Scotland and this connectedness is obvious when reading High Noon on High Street.
While much has been written about Irish Republicanism in Scotland it has been of a general, and sometimes academic, nature. This book is a page from the history of Ireland’s War of Independence, the IRB and IRA in Scotland before the Truce of July 1921.
It is the first true and compelling account of the dramatic attempt to affect a rescue in broad daylight by a selected group of Volunteers. Undoubtedly it will appeal to a wide audience. Stephen Coyle has done history a service with the publication of this book about an event that occurred at the very apex of the War of Independence.
Step by step he brings us through the planning and the event itself. He lifts the lid on an almost forgotten story and brings it to life again, allowing us to hear forgotten voices.
This is a balanced and sympathetic account of an episode which took place 87 years ago, three years after the end of the First World War and a mere five years after the Rising.
It deserves a central place among the array of books on Irish Republicanism in Scotland and the Irish-Scots who answered the call to arms. It has been well worth the wait, Stephen.
It was on the 12fth of May boys in 1921,
When the news ran through all Scotland that a daring deed was done,
It was by a band of rebels to release an Irishman,
They assembled in the high street where they smashed the prison van.
two very good books to catch up on
Evenin all
A great week to have off work, Celtic tonight and 3 crackin days racing to
come
Been busy last few days, something caught my eye on a previous thread
Jerry cornelius suggested that Bobby Lennox was never Celtic’s top scorer in a season
I am on the way for few beers before the game so do not have access to books or stats.
I am convinced that BL scored in the region of 32 league goals the season after Lisbon – when the league went to the wire with the dead club.
He won the Bronze Boot that season. He must therefore have been Celtic’s top scorer on the basis no Celtic player beat him to the Silver or Golden Boot
Any Aul’hauns able to confirm??
the back story of the arrested priest is also in Irish , and also very good.
Dontbrattbakkinanger:
Let them eat experience salad, don’t make them do it.
Some nights here that is all we will eat, some nights here that is all my kids want.
But salad is not conducive to the cold nights of Scotland.
Education not enforcement.
Government subsidies for greens and vegetables in Scotland say I.
Remember school milk, an apple and a banana and an onion too please.
the glorious balance sheet
16:08 on 8 April, 2015
That was the day when IMO B Kayal deliberately tried to get himself sent off immediately before HT with Celtic 3-0 behind.
NL did right withdrawing him at HT. I would never have allowed him to kick a ball for us ever again.
I have often complained about A Stokes on here but that was his finest game in the Hoops.
thomthethim for Oscar OK
1921……..Google – Battle of Rottenrow.
Paul67,
Is the collection only to be on the Celtic Way. I can’t get there before kick-off. Could there not be collection points in various places inside/outside the ground?
the glorious balance sheet:
I think I mixed up Charlie with Sammi in my memory too. I do have the game somewhere, just can’t find it at the moment.
Regardless, that day of bitterness eventually harvested another big glory, and it was a notable glory.
til later bhoys
so jealous of all who will get to Paradise tonight
mid-week games suck
rantovercsc
HH
The Live Updates article will be up at 19:15, could someone leave a note here?
Thanks.
Kit,
It ended even better than that :)
Tgbs,
Huns drew later that day.
Bada,
I’m not sure if it was Charlie or not but his right fitter at rugby park later that season was top drawer imo.
HH
Kit- you’re not wrong.
Saint Stivs
16:03 on 8 April, 2015
Dontbrattbakkinanger
15:56 on
8 April, 2015
In 1888 life expectancy in East End of Glasgow was about 42 for men; by 2008 it had risen to 54.
—————-
risen by 12 years expenctancy over 140 years, good grief.
and still the lowest expenctancy in UK ?
maybe even europe ?
and less than baghdad ?
####
I believe life expectancy in The Calton is 54.
The Calton is in the east end of Glasgow.
It’s only a very small part of the east end.
The Calton has a disproportionate number of hostels for the homeless, for alcoholics and drug addicts. That’s why the figure for life expectancy is so low.
The way to increase life expectancy in The Calton is to ship all the homeless and the alcoholics and the drug addicts to east Dumbartonshire.
It’s such a simple solution I don’t understand why no one has thought of it before now.
Of course it would mean that hacks and nats looking for an easy, lazy headline would have to look elsewhere. Maybe that’s why it hasn’t been done.
ernie lynch
Where’s East Dumbartonshire ?