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Sean Fallon
(Co. Sligo) Sean said of his signing by Celtic " I can never hope to find words to express my feelings at becoming a member of the Celtic Football Club." He once said, "he was just an ordinary player with only a big heart and a fighting spirit to recommend me". These remarks hang starkly in contrast with the attitude and behaviour of modern, overpaid, disloyal mercenaries who have subsequently adorned the hoops. Yet, his coming to Celtic was a remarkable story. Joe McMenemy, son of Celtic legend "Napoleon", was in Sligo when he rescued Lilly Fallon from drowning in Lough Gill. The Fallons invited Joe to their home where he first met Sean. No doubt, they discussed Walfrid, a Sligo man, and the dedicated educational and missionary work of the Brother and, in addition, how he played an important role in founding Celtic. When Joe returned to Scotland, he sent a club jersey and a copy of Willie Maley's book as presents. When the opportunity to join Celtic arose, Sean was only offered £10 per week, which fell to £8 in the close season. He also received £1 towards his digs money. Yet, in Sligo, he earned £8 in his trade as a confectioner and £6 playing with Glenavon Football Club. But signing for Celtic meant that Sean would realise a boyhood dream so he accepted Jimmy McGrory's offer. Little did he know that he too would one day achieve such high esteem with Celtic supporters: a second Sligonian to make a fateful journey to Glasgow. It would not have been possible, even in boyhood dreams, that he would take his place alongside Jock Stein, in Lisbon, to plot the demise of the Latin grip on the European Cup, even if this trophy had existed at the time. He made his debut in April 1950 and promptly scored an own goal. He played mainly as a full back for Celtic but was employed in many other positions. In particular, he was sometimes used as a battering ram type of centre forward. In the St. Mungo Cup of 1951, Sean led a spirited fight back from two goals down as well as scoring. Willie Maley, who watched the game, commented that Sean had the same " never-say-die spirit as Jimmy Quinn". Such praise, coming from one of Celtic's great servants, was not to be taken lightly. Jimmy Quinn is still regarded as an all time great Celt. The 50s Celtic teams were probably the great underachievers in Celtic's history. Sean found that he was playing with some very gifted players, many of who would rank as all time great Celtic players. Bob Kelly picked the team, and, often, his choice of players could best be described as idiosyncratic. On more than one occasion, commentators suggested that while Celtic had the players, they did not have a team. Nevertheless, the names of Fernie, Evans, Peacock, Collins, Tully, McPhail and Stein were Sean's contemporaries. Yet, despite these years being regarded as barren, they gave Celtic supporters some of their greatest moments. Beating Britain's finest in the Coronation Cup and the spectacular outing In The Sun at Hampden (Celtic 7, Rangers 1 in the 1957/58 League Cup Final) are well remembered in verse and song (the book is also excellent). Tully's great feat at Brockville (he scored directly from two in swinging corners, the first one disallowed and replaced by the linesman at the corner flag, with a ball that was unlike anything used in football today) and much more wonderful reminiscences, which, in fact, endears the 50s to Celtic supporters in a way that cannot be fully captured by a simple trophy tally. But, ask any older Celtic fan what was Sean Fallon's contribution, and they would likely nod and say, he was "The Iron Man". No rolling around the Park, no feigning injury, no unfair career threatening challenges, but simply a "big heart", a belief in the shirt and the desire to do well for Celtic. On one occasion, October 1953 against Hearts, he played with a broken collarbone and commented "well it's not as if it was a broken leg". Yes, it is probably true that he did not roll over five times, gyrate in front of the referee as if a well-trained actor, or simply endeavour to cheat so grossly as in the manner of the 1980s and '90s. No! Sean got strapped up and continued to play for Celtic. Undoubtedly, two of the most cherished events in Celtic's history, in the minds of almost all of the fans, are the "Hampden in the Sun" victory over Rangers and the winning of the European Cup in Lisbon. Sean had the unique privilege of being involved in both of those events, firstly as player and secondly as assistant manager; Jock had retired from playing before the 7-1game against Rangers. In an interview in Celtic View, just over a year ago, Sean said that the score against Rangers actually flattered them (Rangers); it could have easily been double figures. After the 7-1 drubbing of Rangers, Sean was not to remain a footballer for much longer. He has kept a dignified silence on his feelings of Jock's appointment
as manager of Celtic when he was expected to be given the job. More
than that, he gracefully accepted his role as assistant to the big man.
Whether the era of success that followed was due to fate or simply Bob
Kelly's good judgement, I'm sure that Sean would agree that the raising
of Celtic to European super status, and the flow of silverware into
Celtic Park, was an enormous achievement for a team that seemed destined
to continually look over its shoulder at what was happening in Govan.
Jock Stein's arrival at Celtic brought immediate rewards in 1965 when
Celtic won the Scottish Cup. A place in the European Cup Winners Cup
Final, the following year, was almost achieved but for some very hard
luck against Liverpool in the semi-final. This was compensated for when
Celtic won the League and the road to Lisbon was put firmly in place.
1967 brought a clean sweep of all the trophies, including the European
Cup. A further seven years of League Championships were to follow. This
was a spectacular achievement by any standards, not least of all in
a country where Celtic supporters were accustomed to being treated as
inferior beings by the fans of their Glasgow rivals. Sean will be best
remembered for his scouting activities and the fact that he signed up
many of Celtic's great players of the era. But he is most definitely
remembered, in his retiring years, as both a Sligo man and a most loyal
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