Author John Wight brings the once famous Celtic Park stand to life as the cultural heartbeat of Scotland's Irish diaspora

IN 1987, Hampden Park was alive.

- BY GARRY DOYLE

Jack Charlton's Ireland had come north for a Euro 88 qualifier, and the Scottish terraces were a furnace of anticipation.

When Ray Houghton, born in Scotland but wearing green, took the pitch, the boos were immediate.

A Scottish boy playing for Ireland — it didn't sit right with some. But then voices from the Irish end rose, thick with Scottish accents, calling the detractors "bigots," singing Irish songs, waving tricolours and scarves.

Scottish by birth, Irish by choice. Identity doesn't always follow the map. That night, it didn't.

For John Wight, the Edinburgh author of a new book, Jungle Days, that moment crystallises Celtic fandom.

"When asked to choose between Scottishness and Irishness, a sizeable minority of Celtic fans chose Irishness in that moment," he says. "It's an identity all Celtic fans are able to juggle, being Scottish in one sense, married with the Irishness of the club."

The 1980s in Scotland were difficult for Irish Catholics. Sectarianism hung in the air. Celtic offered refuge. "Like a lot of young men, Celtic was a sanctuary growing up in Scotland," Wight remembers.

"You didn't feel you were in a minority. You felt part of a movement, part of a cause. That is why the Celtic story has been so powerful since its founding."

Celtic's terraces were alive with loyalty, songs and banners declaring belonging. The football itself in that decade was fascinating.

Aberdeen and Dundee United, the New Firm, had risen, winning four titles and appearing in two European finals, between them.

Rangers, dormant for years, returned under Graeme Souness and became the dominant force from 1986 on.