Kevin. 17 Motherwell.

 


Forza Green Brigade!

   

The Green Brigade are Celtic ultras. We are lifelong supporters saddened at the passive nature of our modern home support and angered at the way we are treated as consumers by the PLC. In the style of European fans we want to bring colour, style, fun, originality and atmosphere back to Celtic games by backing our team for 90 minutes, on our own terms, and in our own way.

Are ultras hooligans?

Absolutely not. Ultras are fervent football fans who wish to add colour and vibrancy to encourage their team and do not look for trouble from other football fans ultras.

What makes you different from other Celtic fans groups?

Firstly we welcome any attempts to improve the atmosphere inside Celtic Park from whatever quarter it comes. What makes the Green Brigade different are our politics. We are anti-racist, anti-sectarian, anti-fascist and left-wing and proud of that fact and similar to comrades from St Pauli, Livorno and Athletic Bilbao etc, we believe that we should be allowed to show our support for political causes which have always gone hand in hand with being a Celtic supporter.

Celtic are also unique in that they were set up by Irish immigrants and the whole history surrounding that does not need to be repeated by us, it is well-known to most Celtic fans. We are of the Scottish and Irish people, a Celtic, Gaelic-speaking people divided in recent history by religion and we support efforts to reunite the people and efforts to revive the Gaeilge/Gaidhlig languages.

Do the Green Brigade just want to sing republican songs?

A common question and understandable given the media misconceptions and confusion between sectarianism and politics. The Green Brigade is a broad front of anti-fascist, anti-racist and anti-sectarian Celtic supporters of many faiths and backgrounds and does not endorse ANY political party or group in either Scotland or Ireland. All members support a 32-county Irish Socialist Republic and an Independent Scottish Socialist Republic in principle and the achievement of these ends using peaceful means of struggle. On the issue of songs we feel that if a song does not have sectarian lyrics then it shouldn't be offensive to anyone. Irish rebel songs go back to the 1798 Rebellion and the United Irishmen which was started by Presbyterians like Wolfe Tone and Samuel Neilson. These songs have been passed down through the ages and are political but not sectarian. Songs of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 like the The News Fae Moidart, Roses of Prince Charlie and Will ye' no come back again are sung by the Tartan Army on away trips as well as songs commemorating the Wallace and the Bruce however no-one seems to be pressuring the Tartan Army to stop singing those songs. Similarly we feel that the problem with Rangers singing pro-British songs is they are politically opposed to our pro-independence and republican stance and the other causes we believe in. But we respect their right to express those views in a non-sectarian manner.

In the final analysis, the Green Brigade are fanatical Celtic supporters and will not try to be cheerleaders for the crowd. We will join in with whatever the fans choose to sing as long as it is not racist or sectarian whilst keeping the atmosphere going when the crowd are quiet.


The Green Brigade are broadly left-wing in our political outlook and encourage any likeminded anti-racist, anti-fascist Celtic fans to get involved by making yourself known to other Green Brigade members. You will be warmly welcomed to help in future displays and have a say in how we can make supporting Celtic an enjoyable experience.



I love Che Guevara Lynch who was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, politician, author, physician, military theorist, and guerrilla leader. After his death, his stylized image became a ubiquitous countercultural symbol worldwide.