Welcome to the home of the Ottawa Celtic Supporters Club located in Canada’s capital city. It’s not a very big club, but we like to think that what we lack in numbers we make up for in enthusiasm. The club did not evolve overnight; in fact, it took several years of talking over a multitude of beer, along with a few false starts before we managed to get underway. In order not to lose track of what actually happened and to prevent our origins from passing into oblivion, or worse into mythology, we have decided that it should be written down here for posterity. So, with that in mind, here goes.

In the beginning ...

One summer evening in 1983, in a parking lot at the playing fields on Colonnade Road, three Ottawa Royals - George Devlin and Charlie McFadden, cousins from Hamilton, Scotland, and Ronnie Campbell from Islay - were discussing the finer points of Scottish football over a few beers with Stuart Davidson, a friendly bluenose who, at that time, also played for the Royals. In the course of that conversation, it was noted that there were a few Tims in Ottawa, mostly playing for the Royals. Later, the three Celtic supporters talked briefly about arranging a get together for these Tims, but like many good ideas born over a few beers, it died a quick death.

A year or two later, over a few beers yet again, the same trio were discussing a video tape that another Ottawa Tim, Bernie Carroll, from Salsburgh in Scotland, had. It was a tape of “The Celtic Story” and they agreed that a get together should be called to view this tape, preferably over a few beers of course (there seems to be a pattern emerging here – Ed.). It was discussed and agreed upon, but it never came to pass. We might be waiting still, had it not been for a very nice lady, Chris Kelly, who worked in Ronnie’s office.

Chris had returned from a holiday in Scotland with a book that she thought Ronnie would like. It was a history of Celtic FC called “The Glory and the Dream” and had been written by a gentleman called Tom Campbell. It turned out to be an excellent read, and inside the front cover Ronnie found the customary “About the Author” paragraph which revealed that Tom was the Head of English at Ottawa's “largest High School”. Determining which school that might be wasn't an easy task, but eventually Ronnie found Tom and rescued him from the mistaken perception that he was the only Tim in Ottawa.

Tom and Ronnie got together and spent hours talking about the Celtic. It turned out that Tom was and still is an absolute mastermind when it comes to Celtic history and trivia. Ronnie called the troops and the phone lines started to hum as those known but dormant Celtic supporters were called and an evening at Bernie's place was finally arranged. That first meeting, over a few beers, was in December, 1987. Bernie and Ronnie recall that Ronnie’s car wouldn't start – it was December in Ottawa after all - and that Bernie drove all the way from Ottawa’s west end to the extreme east end of the city to pick Ronnie up. You’d expect no less from a Tim.

Some of those people who helped to get us started are no longer in Ottawa. Tom Campbell moved back to Scotland; Douglas Campbell is in Vancouver; and Charlie Deeney realized his life’s ambition when he moved home to Derry, where he now sits in his favourite pub drinking his unemployment cheque. At least, that’s what he tells us. Anyway, it was a great night watching “The Celtic Story” and plans were made to get together on a regular basis. Tom Campbell, Ronnie Campbell and Kevin Dale – a cousin of George and Charlie - formed that first executive and they immediately set about the task of obtaining more videos.

John Britton and Harry Aires, from the Hamilton, Ontario CSC, kindly offered to send us tapes of Celtic highlights and these tapes, arriving quite regularly in the mailbox, sustained us for a few years. Having been transferred from PAL and copied several times, they weren't of the best quality. In fact, the first one was video taped off a TV screen, so the angles were all wrong. The left side of the park looked like it was upside down and Owen Archdeacon looked quite at home. But we didn’t care because we were finally getting to see the Bhoys on a regular basis.

Hughie Campbell – no relation to Tom or Ronnie – supplied his basement as our meeting place. The guys brought their own beer, and Hughie’s daughter Laura - who was 8 years old when these video nights began - supplied the chips. Laura freely admits that the unholy influence which these nights represented stayed with her, and she became, like the rest of us, Celtic daft. The hospitality shown by Hughie, his wife Carol, and Laura to our Club in those early years was much appreciated.

We also had a few evenings at Tom Campbell's place. The advent of satellite coverage of the Old Firm games meant that the video nights became less frequent. However, given Celtic's performances in the early 90's, the edited editions of the videos provided our only chance to see them win.

Highlights of that period included the presentation of Player of the Year awards by Ottawa CSC members to the recipients at Celtic Park. Ronnie had the honour of making the first presentation to Pat Bonner while Hughie Campbell had a great video made of his presentation to Paul McStay. That video has disappeared, however, so if you happen to have it gathering dust at home, could you please return it to Hughie? There might even be a beer in it for you.

As satellite games started to become more readily available, we made a very important decision. We decided to join the North American Federation of Celtic Supporter's Clubs, thus gaining access to an increasing number of games. We moved from the Bytown Tavern to the Celtic Cross in 1995 and that became our meeting place until 2001 when we moved up the street a bit to the James Street Feed Company.

Of note in our Newsletter of January 1989 is a wee item mentioning the $92 that we had raised for charity. Even though the membership has changed and technology has taken us such a long way, one thing that has not changed has been the commitment shown by the Ottawa CSC membership towards charities, in Canada and elsewhere. These have included raising money for the local food bank; participation in Multiple Sclerosis walkathons; supporting the Dunblane Fund; and organizing charity soccer games against local supporters of the other lot. We consistently punch above our weight within the Federation when the call goes out to raise funds for good causes and we intend to continue to do so for as long as we possibly can.

In 1997 we held our first Dinner Dance, celebrating 10 years of following the Celts from so far away. In 1998, we took the bold step of holding a much bigger event, with none other than Tommy Gemmell himself as our Guest of Honour. Thanks to the support shown by our members and by North American Tims from all over the Federation, this event was a huge success. It was a massive undertaking by such a small club and it could not have happened without the efforts of Bernie Carroll and his band of helpers.

Ottawa is a Government and High Tech town and, by nature, the labour force tends to be a transient one. This city is the home of the British High Commission to Canada and we have been fortunate enough to benefit from some excellent club members from that unlikely source. Hopefully that will continue in the years to come. As a result of this mobile workforce our membership does tend to fluctuate from year to year and usually we can count on anywhere between 15 - 20 members with a solid backbone of around a dozen people who have been around almost since the start. Lack of money is always a constant source of irritation, but we have been lucky in the quality of the committees we have had as well as the membership as a whole. We organize raffles, quizzes and other fund-raising ventures so that we can continue to be an independent and valuable member of the Federation.

So, if you should happen to find yourself in our fair city, and it is a beautiful place to live or visit, don't be shy. Come join us at the James St Feed Company and watch Celtic in action. Our club may be small, but our hospitality is renowned. We have hosted Celts from all parts of Canada, the U.S.A., South Africa, Australia and of course, Scotland and Ireland - we’ll surely find a wee spot for you.