The
origins of the Mid-Leinster C. S. C (one of the largest in the south outside of
Dublin) lie in 1987, when Tom Kenny founded The Faithful County C.S.C. Four
years later in 1991, the name was changed to the Mid-Leinster Celtic Supporters
Club, as it became well known in the wider midlands area and was no longer
limited solely to County Offaly.
Tom
Kenny, Fra Mollen, Peter Lalor, Eamonn Whitney and Neil McCormack were key
figures in the early years of the club. The club has its own chaplain in the
shape of Fr. Gerry Boyle C.C. The club attended it first game in October 1991,
when Celtic defeated Hearts 3 -1. This was the Liam Brady era and none other
than Tony Cascarino (a prelude to Raphael Sheidht) scored one of the goals. 27
brave and hardy souls made that maiden voyage. The club attended four home
games in all that season and went on to attend its first cup final in 1994 in
that infamous League Cup final against Raith Rovers.
The club has grown from having nine season tickets
in the 1994/95 season to having over 45 this present season. From making as few
as four trips when starting off, we now make up to fifteen trips per year. We
have over 120 paid-up members drawn from as far and wide as Laois, Offaly,
north Tipperary, Westmeath, Kildare and Dublin, so there is always a fair bit
of slagging on the bus … especially when the G.A.A. season starts (pitched
battles actually!!).
We have attended every A.I.C.S.C. Charity Dinner
since the start, often taking along as many as thirty-five members.
Mid-Leinster C. S. C. has hosted and stewarded the last couple of A.G.M.'s of
the association in Characters Bar in Tullamore, where lasting friendships were
formed … after everyone stopped giving out about the ferries!
Mid-Leinster have in the through traditions of
Celtic Football Club given over £10,000 to local charities throughout the
years. Through various functions, we have raised money for the Share-a-Dream
Foundation, Saint Vincent de Paul, the Offaly Hospice, the Independent Centre
of Living in Portlaoise & Tullamore, St. Anne's Roscrea and many other
worthy causes.
We have brought over from Glasgow such bands as “The
Blarney Pilgrims”, “Charlie and the Bhoys” and “Eire Og” as well as local bands
such as “Uisce Beatha” to play at such events.
Just a note to the bhoys in the north, who can enjoy
the luxury of being back in their local before closing time on the day of a
match….. We leave Tullamore at 7.00pm on a Friday, collect lhads along the way,
get to Belfast well after midnight after a short stop in Newry (it used to be
Ravensdale, but we drank it dry!), get the ferry and end up in Glasgow at
around 7.00am on Saturday. On day trips, it is straight back after the match
and back in the midlands around 2.30am on Sunday.
We have had some great moments and times down
through the years, such as –
·
Stopping
Rangers from winning 10-in-a-row in 1998. We brought 78 members to that match,
got out onto the pitch after the game,
dug up sacred grass from the pitch and drank champagne on the boat. We had a
victory parade in Tullamore the next day in the midst of a funeral cortège who
actually taught we were beeping horns in memory of the deceased….!
·
Seville,
with forty bhoys plus the chef!!
·
Great
European nights such as Ajax in Amsterdam and Barcelona.
·
Tony
(Half-Door) Kehoe stowing away under the bag section of the bus
only to be found
from a distress signal from his phone fifty miles later….
·
Andy Brophy's version of the weather forecast
after the Cup Final.
A few lasting thoughts from Mid-Leinster –
·
Cheers
to all the members of our club who fell foul of Strathclyde’s finest and shared
accommodation for the night(s) with Glasgow's meanest men.
·
To
Charing Cross Hotel, the Moat House, the Radisson and to every hotel, that put
us up.
·
To
Scruffy Murphy’s in Coatbridge and McNees for great nights drinking (both
establishments have since burnt down).
·
To
the G.A.A. club in Coatbridge (we want a rematch!)
·
To
the ferries and to Ulster Bus.
·
To
our bus drivers (Fra, can we drink on the bus?!).
·
To
all our members and to Celtic fans everywhere.
·
Last
but not least to Fra Mollen, who has in the past and continues to put in an
incredible amount of work to keep the club going. There is no doubt there would
be no club without him.
Yours in Celtic,
Peter Dooley. (A member of the Mid-Leinster Celtic Supporters Club)