THE NIGHT Neil Lennon was appointed Celtic manager, he wandered out into the vast empty bowl of Celtic Park for some fresh air after a long day of negotiation. He later spoke of being struck by the eerie sight of moonlight shafting in over the stands, casting an aura of history and mystery over the…

TODAY, club legend, Billy McNeill cut the ribbon to officially open “The Celtic Way”, the magnificent new ‘Walkway to Paradise’ between London Road and the main entrance to Celtic Park. To mark the historic occasion, we publish our poem of the same name, based on Celtic’s proud tradition encapsulated in that immortal phrase. Hail! Hail!…

FOLLOWING the recent plethora of articles (including one on this site last month) concerning the fascinating 1867 encounter at Dublin docks between Celtic founding father Patrick Welsh and Willie Maley’s father, then a sergeant in the British army, we decided to give the story the trademark 25thMay1967 treatment. The significance of that curious affair to…

AS the world reacts to the death last night of Nelson Mandela, the response is overwhelmingly, though not exclusively, positive. Inevitably so. As a small part of the worldwide Celtic movement that instinctively stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the oppressed, we at 25thMay1967 today offer our take on a man and his mission, which remains a work-in-progress:…

TWO recent articles (one on the ever-informative Jim Craig CSC website, dealing with an early Glasgow Cup triumph … the other in the pages of the inspirational Celtic Graves Society, which cast fascinating light on one of Celtic’s less-celebrated ‘Founding Fathers’) caused my mind to drift back to the embryonic days of our club and…

WHEN it’s a statement of fact, that’s when. Yes, fholks, Rory Bremner can, indeed, pretend to be Tony Blair – and usually make a pretty decent fist of it, too. Quoting no less an authority than the (allegedly) “Heaven-taught plowman”, Robert Burns … whose humanitarian credentials, notwithstanding his institutional tendency, might well have attracted him…

APROPOS of nothing in particular, every time I sign my name, the signature looks ever so slightly different; and sometimes, quite markedly so. Sometimes you would almost swear somebody else had written it, especially if comparing it, say, to an example from some time ago … or to that on some official document, as opposed…

126 YEARS ago today, the fateful meeting that launched our great club was convened. To mark the occasion, we reflect, in traditional 25thMay1967 style, on one of the greatest talents ever to grace the hoops: The Sorcerer Diminutive, he stalked his prey; but oh! when he began to play, a giant of immense technique ……

THE untimely demise in action of Celtic legend, John Thomson … as, also, its subsequent unfortunate knock-on effect on the life and career of his hapless co-victim, Sam English … ranks high amongst 20th-Century football tragedies.  Accordingly, we are happy, on this, the latest poignant anniversary of his passing, to help perpetuate John’s legend by…

IT WILL BE a complete travesty if Celtic fail to overturn a totally self-inflicted Champions’ League qualification deficit and send Shakhter Karagandy hurtling back to the reality of their lowly world ranking. Setting aside the transparent fact that, as an Asian club, they should never have been anywhere near a UEFA competition in the first…