Belfast Celtic
| Full name | Belfast Celtic Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Celts; The Grand Old Team |
| Founded | 1891 |
| Dissolved | 1949 |
| Ground |
Celtic Park Belfast |
| League | Irish League |
Belfast Celtic Football Club was a football club in Northern Ireland that was founded in 1891, and was one of the most successful teams in Ireland until it withdrew from the Irish League in 1949.
The club, formed in 1891 simply as Celtic, was named after Celtic Football Club of Glasgow. Upon incorporation as a limited company in 1901, however, the club adopted the name Belfast Celtic, the title "Celtic Football Club Ltd" already being registered by the Glasgow club. Their home from the same year was Celtic Park on Donegall Road in west Belfast, known to the fans as Paradise. Celtic won their first league title in 1900 after beating fierce rivals Linfield by a single goal.
The political violence that engulfed Ireland in the 1920s spilled onto the terraces of the Irish League and Celtic was forced to withdraw in 1920 despite winning the title that season, and did not rejoin until 1924. Celtic's support base was strongly Irish nationalist.
Despite this, the club went from strength to strength and the inter-war years proved to be Celtic's strongest: they were league champions four years running after their return. The club also produced some of the greatest players of their generation and at one stage had five international goalkeepers in their squad. Charlie Tully of Celtic, learned how to kick a ball with Belfast Celtic.
The end came on Boxing Day 1948 at the annual Linfield-Celtic game at Windsor Park. Celtic were winning for most of the match but Linfield equalised in the last minute. Linfield fans invaded the pitch and attacked several Celtic players including centre-forward Jimmy Jones who suffered a broken leg. Soon after the club decided to withdraw from the league.
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