Twists and turns Tommy Burns

Miss the mans presence at Celtic one true tim in the backroom you could say he wouldn’t stand for what been going on lately


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Stayed up late to watch it again.

Greetin again now

 

A beautiful person, * bless you Tommy.

 

CELTIC supporters have been coming to the stadium this week to watch a new play celebrating one of the club’s greatest ever figures.

The Tommy Burns Story has been playing to sell-out audiences at the Kerrydale Suite every night this week, and it is a superb production with much laughter and many tears throughout the performance.

And on the opening night (Tuesday), Celtic manager, Ange Postecoglou was among those who were at Celtic Park to see the play.

Speaking to the Celtic View podcast, the Hoops boss said: “It was a fantastic experience. I went with my wife and it’s a great production that the cast and the crew have done a fantastic job in honouring Tommy. I’m sure his family would be proud.

“To share it with 450 other Celts in the room was quite special and there was plenty of laughter, which was synonymous with Tommy, and plenty of tears. It was very emotional.

'What comes through is what I’ve always believed myself as I’ve got older is, as much as Tommy’s achievements were unbelievable, it’s who he was as a man that stands out. That’s why people still remember him today and will remember him forever because of the person he was. And there’s a lesson there for everyone.'

“I know we are driven on achieving things and that’s great because that gives you focus and you want to be part of something special but it shouldn’t diminish the fact that you can be a good person doing all those things and in the end, that’s what people reflect on most.

“He was obviously an outstanding person. I was privileged to be in the room, privileged to be in on opening night and enjoyed it immensely, and I’m sure everyone else who gets to see it will do likewise.”

 

Celtic FC Foundation are delighted to announce that an incredible total of almost £14K was raised for the Christmas Appeal Phase of our Football for Good Fund, during the recent ‘The Tommy Burns Story’ live shows at Celtic Park.

In a play which celebrated the life of the one and only Tommy Burns, the cast performed six sell-out shows in the Kerrydale Suite from November 9-13, with each and every performance leaving the audience captivated by a perfect mix of humour and emotion.

The show’s writer, Davie Carswell very generously donated a percentage of the ticket sales to the Foundation, as well as offering an opportunity for our staff and volunteers to sell programmes at each performance, with 100% of the proceeds devoted to our Christmas Appeal.

We are extremely grateful to Davie and everyone involved in ‘The Tommy Burns Story’ for their wonderful support, and also to our volunteers for giving up their time yet again.

In addition, we have paid our very own tribute to Tommy, with the launch of our brand new, limited edition T-shirt, which also praises the forever present compassion and generosity of our supporters.

The T-shirt – which has the blessing of the Burns family - features the Foundation logo accompanied by Tommy’s famous quote following the 1988 Scottish Cup final, when he said of the Celtic support: ‘They’re there, and they’re always there.’

The T-shirt is available now - priced at £20 - and can be purchased from the Celtic Superstore or online



With Christmas just around the corner, it offers the perfect Christmas gift for any Celtic supporter and net proceeds will be devoted to our Christmas Appeal.

Through the Appeal, we want to give hundreds of families in our communities the Christmas they deserve, making sure there’s food on the table and gifts under the tree.

We also wish to help pensioners, women and children in refuge, the homeless community and refugees – as well as a whole host of others facing poverty and hardship.

Charity, and the generosity and compassion of the Celtic family, will always be our past, present and future – it’s our heritage, our responsibility, our lifeblood.

Please join Celtic FC Foundation in making a difference this Christmas – it’s our reason for being.

Other ways to get behind the Christmas Appeal 2021, include:

1. Donate by text – text ‘CELTIC’ followed by ‘£1’, ‘£5’ or ‘£10’ to 70085*
2. Donate online HERE
3. Donate via PayPal HERE
4. Donate via Facebook HERE
5. Donate in Cash – there are collection boxes located in all Celtic Stores
6. Donate by Cheque – payable to ‘Celtic FC Foundation’ and sent to Celtic FC Foundation, Celtic Park, Glasgow G40 3RE.
7. Provide support through your Christmas shopping via Give as you Live and AmazonSmile HERE
8. Make a donation to receive your ‘Celtic FC Foundation Letter from Santa’ HERE
9. Come along to Ghirls for Good on Friday, November 26 HERE
10. Sign up for the Celtic Sleep Out, London on Friday, December 3 HERE
11. Support our Light Up the Clover initiative on Thursday, December 9 or matchday bucket collection on Sunday, December 12 - to register as a volunteer collector, call 0141 551 4204 or email cfcfoundation@celticfc.co.uk
12. Enter our new Christmas Appeal Prize Draw – further details to follow.

Thank you for your magnificent support.

 

Celtic FC Foundation are delighted to announce that a phenomenal total in excess of £16K was raised during the recent ‘The Tommy Burns Story’ live shows at the Kings Theatre.

Following the wonderful success of the show’s debut run at Celtic Park’s Kerrydale Suite back in November 2021, the play returned for five sell-out shows over three days from July 7-9, this time at one of Glasgow’s iconic theatre venues.

Once again, audiences were left captivated by a perfect mix of humour and emotion, as the show perfectly chronicled the story of the self-proclaimed ‘supporter who got lucky’. From growing up in the Calton, to playing for and managing the club he loved, the play covered the three things he cherished above all else – his family, his faith and his football.

Just as he did back in November, playwright, Davie Carswell very generously donated a percentage of the ticket sales to the club’s charitable arm, as well as offering for the Foundation to receive 100 per cent of the proceeds raised through the sale of the programmes at each performance.

As Tommy so famously said, ‘They’re there and they’re always there’ and yet again, the Celtic support proved him right, with their tremendous backing of this initiative across all five shows.

We are extremely grateful to Davie and everyone involved in ‘The Tommy Burns Story’ for their incredible continued support. We would also like to thank all of our volunteers for giving up their time and everyone who purchased a programme.

 

Attended this last Friday. Absolute class from start to finish with not a dry eye in the place. * bless him.

 

Fifteen years ago today, on May 15, 2008, Tommy Burns passed away. He was just 51-years-old. The loss was one felt by the whole Celtic Family though, of course, the greatest loss belonged to his wife, Rosemary and his four children, Emma, Jenna, Michael and Jonathan. And on this anniversary, as always, our thoughts and prayers remain with them.

Tommy Burns was a public figure, known and loved by Celtic supporters young and old, but he was a husband and father, and also a grandfather, and his family miss him in ways that we can’t begin to imagine or understand.

In his all-too-short life, Tommy did extraordinary things for our football club. He spent 14 years as a player, making his debut against Dundee in April 1975 and bowing out in a friendly match at Celtic Park against Ajax in December 1989.

The Celtic View interviewed him on many occasions over the years, and at one point he was asked what his greatest achievement had been as a player.

As far as he was concerned, it was staying at the club for such a long time “because bad players don’t play for Celtic for 14 years.”

That has always been the same at the club and it is testament to his ability that Tommy did manage to last so long. During that time he won six league championships, five Scottish Cups and one League Cup medal. It was an impressive tally for a player who made 503 appearances for his beloved green and white Hoops.

Tommy Burns seemed fated to play for Celtic. The boy from the Calton, born almost in the shadow of Celtic Park, grew up following the club and progressed on to the hallowed turf.

As he always said, he considered himself to be no more than a supporter who got lucky. It was always a way of reminding people, and perhaps himself, that he was one of them, and it offers a perfect illustration of his humility.

Having left the club, he returned in 1994 as manager, and was instrumental in restoring our pride on the pitch. His team always tried to play football ‘the Celtic Way’, and everyone who watched the Hoops at that time still speak with great affection and enthusiasm about what they saw.

While he did win the Scottish Cup in 1995 – Celtic’s first trophy in six years – a league title eluded him. It would have been a fitting reward for Tommy and his team but sadly it was not to be and he left in 1997.

Thankfully, however, it wasn’t for long and when he returned, it was like he had come home. Our Youth Academy, which has produced a whole host of first-team players in recent seasons, is testament to his hard work in setting it up, while the Lennoxtown Training Centre is a great legacy.


And Tommy’s contribution to the club’s success under Gordon Strachan cannot be underestimated. The league triumph at Tannadice in 2008, which made it three-in-a-row, was dedicated to Tommy by a group of players still mourning the loss of an influential figure within their ranks.

Throughout the battle he fought with skin cancer, Tommy showed great courage and fortitude, while taking great solace from the Catholic faith which had been a central tenet of his life.

Supporters always loved Tommy Burns because he was one of us – a Celtic fan who was lucky enough to live the dream that we’ve all harboured at one time in our lives.

And the sea of tributes which were laid outside the front of Celtic Park after Tommy’s passing, was the most visible sign of the unique place he held in the hearts of the entire Celtic family.

So today, May 15, is a sad time for everyone. It’s still hard to believe that Tommy’s no longer with us, and every memory will be tinged with sadness.

But we should also remember the great things he did for our club, the goals he scored, the trophies he lifted, the players he brought to the club and the example he set of what it means to be a good Celtic man.

We believe that Celtic is more than a football club – our roots, our character and our ethos set us apart, and Tommy Burns embodied everything that is good about Celtic.

He was one of the greats who passed through Parkhead’s gates and he will never be forgotten. Hail, Hail, Tommy Burns.

 

What a man, absolute gentleman and total legend.

Had the privilege of meeting him for a brief 5 minutes, with him being the one coming to us just because I had a Celtic strip on. Took the time to speak to us when he was going to a wee Chapel Doo.

Still one of my fav seasons winning the league was the week after his sad passing at Tannadice.

 

Watched the doc again last night and it struck me that Tommy was probably the ideal image of a Celtic fan. People don't always get the success or breaks they deserve in life(Though Tommy still had much success) but Tommy was blessed with a wonderful family and got to live the dream of every Celtic fan. Gone far too soon, especially when you see some of the vile creatures still walking the planet. * Bless TB.

 

* bless TB...