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Glenavon Salute for Celtic Legends |
Belfast Celtic enthusiasts braved the elements to travel to a snowbound Mourneview Park in Lurgan on Tuesday, March 30th, as Glenavon rolled out the green carpet for two Belfast Celtic Heroes. Adrian Teer, Chairperson of Glenavon, and Vice-Chair Hubert Watson, welcomed the Belfast Celtic Society to pay tribute to Society President Jimmy Jones and his great friend and team mate Jackie Denver. Both men served both Glenavon and Belfast Celtic with distinction in the 1940's and 50's and both live a stone's throw from Mourneview Park to this day. |
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Stars in their midst: Mayor of Craigavon Meta Crozier (back row, centre) joins members of the Belfast Celtic Society, Glenavon Football Club and the families of Jackie Denver (front row, second left) and Society President Jimmy Jones (front row, second right) to celebrate their contributions to both Belfast Celtic and Glenavon. |
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Organised by the Belfast Celtic Society, special framed jerseys were produced and presented to each player by Mayor of Craigavon, Meta Crozier, with an emroidered Society logo, under which each players' name is emblazoned. These are totally unique 'one off' strips, made in the old Belfast Celtic style.
Society Chair Padraig Coyle was delighted with the attendance at the event and was thrilled the former stars enjoyed themselves so much. He said; "You only had to look around the walls in the Glenavon boardroom to see the links between Belfast Celtic and the Lurgan club. The early 50's was a time of rich pickings for Glenavon and at the heart of that great team were the two men we were honouring - Jimmy Jones and Jackie Denver. As well as that, they were coached and managed at the time by another Celtic star, the great Jimmy McAlinden. |
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The Mayor of Craigavon Meta Crozier joins Belfast Celtic Chariperson Pádraig Coyle in |
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a celebration of the footballing careers of Jackie Denver (seated left) and Jimmy Jones. |
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We took the opportunity to gently remind the Glenavon’s directors of the momentous 13-0 result in favour of Celtic in 1941, when Peter O’Connor alone delivered 11 goals and the banter between us all was very good. Adrian Teer, the current Glenavon Chair, also informs me his grandfather was a player with the 'Stripes', so the connections between the clubs remain strong to this day.
"Our thanks go to Mayor Meta Crozier, who gave a stirring address on behalf of the borough, highlighting the two legends as being a cornerstone to the sporting history of the area, and to Glenavon FC for being such fantastic hosts." |
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Glenavon Chariperson Adrian Teer presents Jimmy Jones with a German newspaper article celebrating his prowess as a goalscorer. |
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