The Greatest Team that Ireland has ever seen.
"Until we had Belfast Celtic we had nothing then we had everything."
Andersonstown News
Saturday, December 27 marked the 60th anniversary of one of the ugliest moments in the history of Irish football, when severe sectarian violence spilt onto the pitch at a Belfast Celtic v Linfield match at Windsor Park. The events of that day were the beginning of the end of one of the most successful Irish football teams ever. Sports historian and writer Barry Flynn looks back....
For two teams whose grounds were less that half a mile apart, Belfast Celtic and Linfield could well have existed in different universes.
The sectarian divide kept both communities encased within their own areas, while for both sets of supporters political and religious pride was at stake when Celtic and Linfield clashed. In front of 27,000 feverish spectators, a bruising and bad-tempered encounter ensued.
By the end of the game, the teams were level at one goal apiece, and while Linfield finished the encounter with eight players to Celtic's ten, those statistics were made irrelevant by the scenes that followed the final whistle.
One player's name became synonymous with the events that fateful day; his name was Jimmy Jones, the bustling Celtic forward from the Co Armagh town of Lurgan.
In a twist of terrible fate, an accidental collision between Jones and the Linfield defender Bob Bryson in the thirty-fifth minute of the game, led to Bryson being stretchered off the field with a broken ankle.
Mid-way through the second half, it was announced on the public address system that Bryson's ankle had been broken. Given the tinderbox that existed within the ground, it was, to say the very least, an irresponsible act.
In reality, Jimmy Jones was now on borrowed time as the atmosphere in the ground became poisoned and at the final whistle a section of the Linfield fans exacted shameful retribution.
The ‘Match of the Season’ that had been expected ended in a bitter and nasty display of hooliganism that was to set in motion a chain of events that saw the demise of Belfast Celtic.
Whether Irish football has recovered from that day is open to debate but it became a poorer entity after the events of 27th of December 1948.
Surprisingly, segregation was not imposed within the ground, but supporters of both sides congregated in parts of the terraces where they felt safe in numbers.
The most vociferous of the Linfield supporters gathered on the extensive Spion Kop terrace which overlooked the goalmouth at the Bog Meadows end of the ground. It was from this area that the trouble was to later originate.
Celtic fans were housed in significant pockets around the ground, but they knew their place and as such kept away from the unruly elements among the home fans.
Given the festive season, there could be no doubt that a significant number of supporters had 'drink taken' before the match and many came with bottles to fortify themselves against the cold.
A small detachment of RUC officers patrolled the ground and kept their eyes on the spectators but nothing untoward was expected that December day.
By 1.30pm the ground was filling up and as usual the 'party songs' began, it was reported, mainly among the home fans on the Spion Kop end of the ground.
The Belfast correspondent of the Irish Times reported that police moved through the terraces with batons drawn to try and stamp out any disorder before the game began.
Both teams were afforded a typical ‘Windsor welcome’ from the fans as oaths and insults rained down from the enclosures. The signs were ominous as referee Norman Boal blew his whistle in the cauldron that was Windsor Park.
The game kicked off at 2.30pm and Linfield were the first to show and forced two early corners which the Celtic defence had difficulty dealing with. The visitors soon gained their composure and George Hazlett and Johnny Campbell led the attack, while Jones came close to opening the scoring on twenty minutes.
The game intensified and the tension in the ground rose considerably as rain began to fall and the light began to disappear. Ten minutes from the interval, the crowd erupted as a clash between Jones and Bob Bryson saw the Linfield defender writhe in agony as a stretcher was called for to take him from the field.
The incident arose when Jones fouled Bryson and as the Linfield player went to kick the ball at his opponent the crack of Bryson's ankle was heard across the ground. Bryson had caught Jones' foot with his own ankle and received a bad break.
Tempers on and off the pitch became frayed and referee Boal was forced to caution a number of players, while the police were again forced to go on to the terraces to break-up some scuffles.
The net result, given that no substitutes were then permitted, was that Linfield were now down to ten men and at a disadvantage as the game approached half-time.
Shortly afterwards, Linfield forward Jackie Russell was pole-axed and taken from the field after he had been hit full-on by the football and as the whistle blew for the break, Linfield had only nine fit players on the field.
The opening forty-five minutes had laid the foundations for the chaos to come. The ground possessed an undertone of serious violence and sectarian hatred was bubbling below the surface.
When Linfield announced over the public address system that Bryson's leg, rather than his ankle, had been broken, the genie was most certainly out of the bottle.
This act of folly shortened considerably the odds of a backlash against Jones and the Celtic players. Why they felt the need to do this has never been resolved but it was, at best, totally irresponsible in the circumstances.
The game resumed in gathering darkness with Linfield still two players short. Russell had been sent to the Royal Victoria Hospital with severe bruising, while Bryson had a broken ankle.
Undeterred, the Linfield supporters willed their team to keep the Celtic attack at bay with inside left Isaac McDowell starring for the Blues.
With the game poised and scoreless, the temperature reached perilous heights when Celtic's Paddy Bonnar and Linfield's Albert Currie were sent off after they clashed with eighteen minutes left.
By this stage, most observers felt that others on the field should have 'walked', but referee Boal's hand was forced and the crowds reacted in turn.
Celtic's Jimmy Jones. In addition to the ‘sin’ of being involved in the Bryson incident, Jones was targeted as he was, quite simply, a sublime footballer who had already scored twenty-six goals that season.
Add to this that he was a Protestant and to the Linfield mob he was fair game as he was also a 'traitor' to his, and their, religion.
Whilst many of the spectators from the unreserved enclosure were intent on congratulating the Linfield players, initial banter of Jones soon turned to abuse as members of the mob accused him of deliberately setting out to injure Bryson.
Gaps opened up on the terraces as fighting broke out among spectators on the Spion Kop and the police again drew their batons.
Within minutes, it seemed that an uneasy calm had been restored, but with ten minutes to go Linfield full-back Jimmy McCune upended Celtic's Jackie Denver in the box.
To the roar of the Celtic fans, Boal awarded a penalty from which Harry Walker scored. The situation was now bordering on the brink of chaos as Celtic seemed certain to take the points.
Many thousands of supporters sensed that there would be trouble and headed for the exits as the match entered its closing stages.
However, Linfield attacked in search of an equaliser and were rewarded four minutes from time when Isaac McDowell burst down the wing and found Billy Simpson in the box.
The Linfield forward made no mistake as he finished past Kevin McAlinden to square the game. Immediately, masses of Linfield fans surged from the terraces and invaded the pitch in celebration.
Celtic goalkeeper McAlinden was manhandled by the mob, while Jones and Aherne received some close attention also. The police present battled to clear the field and the remainder of the game was played out amid a deafening roar.
At the death, Linfield almost stole the game but the players' minds were now set on making the dressing rooms as the game concluded.
The final whistle saw the Linfield mob on the Spion Kop invade the field and they began again to attack the Celtic players.
Furthest from the pavilion, at the far end of the field, was the solitary figure of the running track at the side of the pitch, the ringleaders from the Spion Kop had reached him and he was dragged over the parapet into the terrace below the main stand.
The 20-year-old was now at the mercy of the baying mob as police elsewhere tried to clear the field. In the stand watching in horror were Jones' mother and father who had travelled up from Lurgan for the occasion.
What followed in the terrace was brutal and prolonged. Jones was trapped and hidden in a sea of bodies while the rest of the Celtic team battled through the raging crowd.
The beating was merciless on the Jones. He was punched in the back of the head. However, as he tried to make his way up the terrace away from his attackers, he was tripped and dragged back down the steps.
The core of the mob now consisted of about thirty men and unhindered they set about the prostrate Jones.
The attackers knew what they were doing and immediately began to jump on the legs of the player to ensure maximum damage was inflicted on his career.
Heavy hob-nailed boots danced on Jones' leg and ankle as the frenzied crowd took turns to jump on the hapless player. He was kicked around the terraces like a rag doll.
After what seemed like an age, a police constable arrived and tried to intervene.
Immediately, he shouted at the mob, ‘If you don't stop kicking him I'll use my baton!’ Not surprisingly, he too was beaten back as the attack continued unabated.
Meanwhile, in the pavilion, the Celtic players became aware that Jones was missing and vowed to return to the pitch to rescue him.
Celtic officials and directors calmed the players and sought help to get Jones. Despite the danger, a close friend of Jones – Ballymena goalkeeper Sean McCann – waded into the madness from his seat in the grandstand.
He wrapped himself around the screaming player, guarding his leg, which was badly mangled. Finally, a dozen police officers arrived to aid Jones and the mob dispersed post-haste. It was too late, the damage had been done and the repercussions were about to begin.
On his rescue, Jones was rushed to the Musgrave Park Hospital where surgeons fought to save his leg – to this day his right leg is an inch and a half shorter than his left.
The Belfast Celtic Board met that very evening and it is thought that the decision to withdraw from the game was taken at that meeting.
For Linfield, their punishment was not long in coming. The IFA met on 4th January and deemed that Windsor Park be closed for a month.
This meant that Linfield were forced to play two games ‘away’ at Solitude in North Belfast.
Meanwhile, the directors of Celtic noted the soft treatment afforded to Linfield and, eventually, on 21st April they forwarded a letter to the football authorities advising that the club was, after 58 years of existence, to leave Irish football for good.
