Celtic fans raised just over £20,000 at Saturday’s match against Aberdeen in a collection for An Gorta Mor- to build a memorial to the Irish Famine in Glasgow.
A team of volunteers were despatched around the ground for a bucket collection with Celtic fans responding enthusiastically to a cause close to their heart and the very origins of the club.
Give yourselves a huge round of applause! Thank you! #WeAreBuildingIt pic.twitter.com/u6HSV9u8ee
— An Gorta Mór Glasgow (@GortaMorGla) March 11, 2019
Reminder that there will be a bucket collection at tomorrow’s match to help raise funds for the Irish Famine Memorial ???????? ????????????????????????????which will be sited at St Mary’s, all donations will be gratefully received ????@CelticFC @GortaMorGla pic.twitter.com/FcuBi8T2Mv
— Celtic FC SLO (@CelticFCSLO) March 8, 2019
Thousands of Irish immigrants made the short crossing in the second half of the 19th century with the east end of Glasgow one of the first stopping points before moving on to various points across west/central Scotland as well as the cities of Edinburgh and Dundee.
There are Famine Memorials across the globe to the Irish diaspora but none in Scotland although many would point to Celtic are a live, living and breathing memorial to the way that the Irish settled in Scotland with the club’s name used to symbolise one shared culture.
A target of £80,000 has been set for the memorial with other events planned to raise funds- with 25% of the target raised in one day the fund raising effort is well on schedule.