James McMillan is Still Not Redeeming Himself
For those of you who don’t read right wing broadsheet The Telegraph, James McMillan the composer, has again been mouthing off about subjects other than classical music.
This time the self righteous, self appointed spokesman for extreme Catholicism in Scotland is calling for Celtic fans to ditch their “shady pro-terrorist sympathies”
I can see what you’re thinking now, “what has this well off new middle class Gent got to moan about?”
We’re only half way through the headline, which reads
“Celtic fans need to ditch their shady, pro-terrorist sympathies and return to their Catholic roots”
He starts with mock horror at the reports last week regarding Father James Chesney and recounted the similar scandal concerning Father Bartholomew Burns who was assigned to a Glasgow Archdiocese in the 70s.
Good so far, so what’s the issue?
He then describes himself thus
“Those of us of an Hiberno-Catholic inclination in Scotland have seen this sort of thing before.”
Hiberno-Catholic?
Is there a more pretentious pseudo identity claimed for (one section of) Scotland’s second or third generation Irish immigrants?
“It was inevitable that Catholics in these parts would take sides with the Civil Rights Movement, and their republican politics”
One has to look back and wonder just how the murdering racists who painted “Brits Out” on the walls of Belfast and beyond were allowed to call themselves a “Civil Rights” movement.
As propaganda goes, it’s not short of a Goebells offering.
“In earlier phases of the Nationalist/British struggle many of our relatives took part. After WWI, my grandfather’s cousin fled from Ireland to hide with the Scottish branch of the family in Ayrshire. This man sat with a cocked revolver behind the front door expecting the police to catch up with him at any time. I think he had probably shot some Black and Tan soldiers. One morning he was gone. A postcard from Pittsburgh finally arrived, and that branch of the family have been there ever since.”
Maybe I’m missing something, but doesn’t McMillan make a major assumption that all of the Irish Catholic immigrants were more interested in what happened in the homeland they had left, than the country that had just taken them in? Maybe he’s right. Maybe that’s why generations of Irish Catholics have failed to integrate in to Scotland.
The apparent pride in his First cousin once removed betrays the tenet of “anti violence” the headline alludes to.
“The culture of Glasgow Celtic FC is steeped in this history. It was established by a Marist Brother from Sligo in 1888 to provide charity, sport and entertainment for the urban poor who had settled in the east end of Glasgow in the 19th century”
Not according to author Bill Murray, who, in his book “The Old Firm: Sectarianism, Sport and Society in Scotland” claimed Celtic’s origins thus
“But as well as concern for the suffering poor, brother Walfrid was also prompted by a fear that Protestant soup kitchens might tempt young Catholics into apostasy. Moreover he was equally worried about the dangers of young Catholics meeting Protestants in their place of employment or leisure, particularly during the years after leaving school which he considered the most dangerous as far as "religious duties" were concerned. A Catholic football club then, could serve the dual purpose of easing the pain in starving stomachs at the same as it kept young Catholics together in their leisure time, free from the temptations of Protestants and Protestantism. The aims of his helpers may have been more prosaic, but when the circular announcing the formation of a Catholic club in the East End of Glasgow was circulated in January 1888, its religious foundations were stressed".
Not quite as romantic now Mr High Brow, is it?
"The club was eventually gifted the national flag – the tricolor – from the Irish Republic for the work they had done for Irish immigrants in Scotland."
Presumably McMillan has documentary evidence of this?
"In the continual bickering with their ancient enemies, Rangers FC, the accusations fly as to who has the most sectarian set of fans. The chants from the Rangers fans have a distinctly anti-Catholic edge, attacking the Pope and aspects of the faith."
Do we now? Which ones would they be, and when were they last heard?
Next comes one of a small number of acceptable paragraphs
“But hatred is hatred, and it doesn’t matter what initial instigation and shape it has. I have always celebrated the Irish culture from which I grew, but I have always been appalled at the ease with which many fellow Celtic fans were able to bestow their support on the IRA.”
He should be applauded for openly criticising this element of the Celtic support, but just has to resume the anti Rangers lies and Propaganda
"In the 1970s Scottish and English football was blighted by the entryism of the extreme Right. The NF and later the BNP would distribute their propaganda quite freely outside many grounds. In Scotland the most eager takers for this kind of fascist filth were the Rangers and Hearts fans. In contrast, the Celtic fans would pride themselves on the presence of the extreme Left at Celtic Park, in the shape of various Trotskyist and Sinn Fein lobbyists. Some sanctimonious Hoops supporters would even argue that their Leftism was the true modern heir of the charitable activities of the club’s Marist founder, Brother Walfrid. This clutch of values has led many Celtic fans into supporting the IRA’s murderous collaborators in other conflicts, including Hamas and Catalan and Basque separatists."
Firstly, there is no evidence, other than the hearsay of anti Rangers haters, that the NF and BNP had any type of market at Ibrox, or, for that matter, Tynecastle in any period.
When did McMillan ever witness this first hand, I’d like to hear it.
In 30 years of following Rangers at home and away, I’ve seen a representative of the BNP trying to sell their wares outside Ibrox twice. Both times they were chased from their “pitch”, and showed a clean pair of heels as they ran off down Copland Road.
The Trotskyists and left wingers allegedly at Celtic Park in the last 3 decades must have had days off when scores of Celtic fans racially abused Rangers black debutante Mark Walters,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWYpmF1j288
Or when Celtic fans chanted “Malvinas Malvinas” in support of Argentina’s Fascist regime in 1982 (recently repeated in print by various Anti English racists during the World Cup)
Rangers fans are a huge demographic in Scotland, and if there were genuine Right Wing tendencies there would be right wing representation in every political sphere. There isn’t, because this is a lie designed to marginalise and denigrate the Rangers support with trendy liberals outwith the West of Scotland who don’t know any better.
When referencing those Celtic “leftists” who argued their politics were the natural heir to the charitable aims of Walfrid, he doesn’t argue the point.
Perhaps he has no opinion on it, or perhaps he agrees. Nevertheless, if he is undecided, perhaps he should remind himself of Communism’s strict intolerance of any religion being practised. Those “communists” must have had some conflicts of interest.
Or perhaps Communism was just a convenient badge to wear to ingratiate with media and people of influence.
Never let it be said though that credit isn’t given where due here, as the following statement of attack, while not 100% accurate in its relationship to left wing politics, is still welcome
“This clutch of values has led many Celtic fans into supporting the IRA’s murderous collaborators in other conflicts, including Hamas and Catalan and Basque separatists.
“When Celtic faced FC Hapoel of Tel Aviv recently, the Scottish TUC organized a huge anti-Israeli demonstration at the Glasgow leg, and recruited many eager Celtic fans to wave Palestinian and Hamas flags at the visitors. The sight of my fellow Celtic supporters goading our Jewish guests with anti-Semitic howls and insults was deeply shaming.”
He then chides the Celtic Support on their ongoing attacks on British Army personnel, reminding them that there are more than a few serving officers to support their team
“With British troops in action in Iraq and Afghanistan, many football clubs invite soldiers on leave to attend as honoured guests. Rangers have made a feature of this. This would be unimaginable at Celtic Park because of the baggage left over from the Troubles. But if Celtic supporters imagine that their team is not without its support in the British Armed forces, they are very much mistaken. In their last European final, in 2003, when Celtic played Porto in Seville, I happened to be working in Germany. I found a pub to watch the game. It was full of British soldiers, Celtic fans to a man.”
This is also welcome criticism from one of the club’s most prominent supporters. The debate over how serving British soldiers can share a terracing with such anti British sentiment is probably for another day.
He finishes off with a stern lecture
“For the sake of our reputation, Celtic fans need to reflect on the appalling political allegiances that they have made over the years. There is a clear necessity for a radical reassessment of the shadier aspects of Celtic’s “culture”. For a start, my fellow fans could ditch their copies of Socialist Worker and An Phoblacht, and get back to the original values of the club’s Catholic founder. That might mean finding new reading materials – the Gospels, for example. And it would also mean getting back to attending Mass and Confession.”
While it may be commendable for McMillan to condemn the tacit support for terrorism within the Celtic support, one has to ask why he wishes such a catholic identity for the club, and get back to “the original values of the club’s Catholic founder”?
The world is a far different place from the one in 1888. There is no need for exclusion in the 21st Century, no need to create a football club to become a focal point for the Catholic community, as that’s what the churches are for.
There may be a need for “charity”, but the demands of modern day football supporters, whatever religion they are is success, and the shareholders and of Celtic (and Rangers for that matter) would not stand for any significant percentage of their turnover being redirected from investment in players.
McMillan needs some perspective, and a dose of reality
