Cesar Billy McNeill - Rest In Peace Cesar.

* bless you Billy.

 

nice image of Billy with his parents

 

A new state-of-the-art 4g sports pitch at Our Lady’s High School in Motherwell has been named after Celtic legend, Billy McNeill, a former pupil of the school.

Billy’s wife, Liz, was at the school today (Thursday) for the official opening of the impressive new Billy McNeill Sports Park facility, and she was joined by pupils and teachers from the school, along with Frank McNally, North Lanarkshire Council’s Convener of Education and Families.

Speaking to Celtic TV, Liz McNeill said: “We’re very proud indeed, all the family, and Billy’s parents would have been extremely proud too.

“Bobby Murdoch was also at this school, so I think between the two of them, they’ve left quite a good legacy and I’m sure other people will be inspired.

“This is such a tremendous ground here and they’re got a lovely facility now, so there’s no reason why they can’t.”

Billy, who sadly passed away in 2019, is Celtic’s greatest ever captain, and played more times for the club – 790 competitive appearances in total – than any other player in the club’s history.

The pinnacle of that incredible playing career was lifting the European Cup in Lisbon on May 25, 1967, when another Celtic legend and former Our Lady’s High pupil, Bobby Murdoch, was also part of the legendary Lisbon Lions team.

Frank McNally said: “I’m delighted to be here at the Billy McNeill Sports Park – a £600,000 investment from the council – and it’s absolutely right that we committed to upgrading these facilities, and delighted that we’re able to name it after, not only a Celtic legend but also a legend from this school.

“We’ve got so many footballing legends who’ve come out of this school – Bobby Murdoch was also a pupil at Our Lady's High, so it’s great that we’re providing these facilities for the next generation of sportsmen and sportswomen who are going to come through this school and hopefully go on to better things.

“It is facilities like this which give our young people the opportunity to enhance their skills. It’s also open, not just to the school but to the wider community as well, so local teams are able to access this facility.”


Our Lady’s High School in Motherwell, which was founded in the significant year of 1888, has a long and illustrious sporting reputation. Prior to Billy McNeill and Bobby Murdoch attending the school, the legendary Manchester United manager, Sir Matt Busby, was a pupil, while in more recent years, former Celts Kieran Tierney and Stephen Pearson also attended Our Lady’s High.

Dan Cardle, headteacher of Our Lady’s High School, added: “It’s a fantastic facility and it can be used during PE time but also after school for clubs etc… so it’s a fantastic resource for us.

'The fact that Billy McNeill went to Our Lady’s High is great, and it’s great for us to name the pitch after him because he’s a great role model for the young people – a great player for Celtic and for Scotland.'

“So we’re hoping that it does inspire and I think that it has already inspired a few others through the years and will continue to do so.”

And some of the pupils at today’s official opening of the Billy McNeill Sports Park spoke of their delight at the new facility.

Claire McVey said: “I feel that it’s really important, the fact that we come to this school and this great man came here as well, and we can pay tribute to him in a way that he’s left his legacy and the fact that it can represent him and the whole community and bring us all together.”

Liam Cogan said: “Football’s obviously a massive part of the culture and having the football pitch here attributed to Billy McNeill means that people can come here and play football and it also contributes to the community. So when people are playing football, it’s important to know that he did so much for football and he’s continuing to do so for the future of football as well.”

And John Cunningham added: “We used to have a rubbish ash pitch before so it’s good that we now have a great facility and it’s good that it’s been named in honour of Billy McNeill as well.”

The all-weather 11-a-side pitch at Our Lady’s High School, Motherwell will be used by the school and local community teams and organisations for a number of sports including football and hockey.

 

ICON. Rest in Peace.

 

Nice touch that.

 

Great club