CELTIC HERO TOMMY BURNS CELEBRATED AT PREMIERE OF NEW DOCUMENTARY
Life and career of Scotland and Celtic legend in focus for feature-length documentary
A DOCUMENTARY looking back on the life of late footballing legend Tommy Burns has premiered in Glasgow.
The feature-length production explores the life and career of the much-loved father, player and manager through the eyes of his friends and family.
Tommy’s children Emma, Jenna, Michael and Jonathan each told their own story of their late father who passed away from skin cancer in 2008, aged just 51, through the film which will be broadcast next week.
Friends of the sporting icon including Billy Stark, Sir Kenny Dalglish, Pat Bonner, David Hay, and Gerry Collins recalled the highs and lows of Burns’ 30-year career.
Speaking a decade on from his untimely death, daughter Jenna Burns said: “I don’t think he’s coming back but he’s still very much a huge part of my life. I don’t think he will ever not be there.”
Born Thomas Burns on December 16, 1956, Tommy grew up in the Calton, just a short distance from the Parkhead club where he would make his name.
Jock Stein signed the promising young player for Celtic in 1973 from Maryhill Juniors leading to his debut with the club in 1975.
He remained with the Glasgow team for 14 years before being sold to Kilmarnock.
In 1992, Burns was appointed Kilmarnock’s player-manager and guided the club to promotion to the Scottish Premier Division.
In the years following, he returned to Celtic as manager and led the club to glory during the Scottish Cup in 1995.
During his historic career, Burns won six Scottish League titles, four Scottish Cups and was part of the side that won the league and cup double in 1987-88 – Celtic’s centenary season.
He accumulated an impressive eight international caps.
The much-loved footballing legend modestly described himself as a “supporter who got lucky” but former colleague Sir Kenny Dalgish said he considers the fans to be the luck ones.
He explained: “Tommy said he was just a supporter that turned lucky, but I think the supporters, I think they were the lucky ones, because they got to see him play.
“The benefits the fans got through Tommy Burns, wasn’t because he was a footballer, it was because he was a fantastic person.
“He was Celtic through and through, just stayed down the road from the ground. He went to school down there, and the church that he attended was where Brother Walfrid got the idea to form Celtic Football Club.
“He had a lot of history about himself.”
Former Scotland player Tosh McKinlay added: “He
‘‘ There’s never been a player closer to Celtic Park born and bred
always used to say ‘fear is a useless emotion’ and that’s what I always had in my mind – go out and play and enjoy yourself and enjoy playing in front of these fans because they’re the most important and that’s what he always said himself, they’re the most important people at the football club.
“There’s never been a player closer to Celtic Park born and bred than Tommy Burns.”
Looking back over the life of Burns, author of best-selling biography Tommy Burns: A Supporter Who
Got Lucky, Paul Cuddihy commented: “When he was asked what was his greatest achievement when you think of – he played over 500 games for Celtic, and you know he won so many league titles and Scottish Cups and league cup and he said it was actually staying at the club so long, because bad players don’t play for Celtic for 14 years.
“Young people can’t really imagine what Scottish football for Celtic was like back from when we had won the cup in ’89 right through to when Tommy won it again in 1995.
“There were some really bleak times on the park, obviously we got to the stage when the club almost went under and Fergus came in and rescued it.
“I think the problem was that you’re then had a rebuilding faze and by the time Tommy came in and you know when you look at it, it was the right appointment because you needed somebody who got the club, who knew what, what the supporters were looking for and he was going to try and delivery it but, but obviously
the opposition had such a head start that it was always going to be difficult.”
As well as the documentary, by Glasgow-based production company purpleTV, a new community hall is to be built in memory of the Celtic legend on the site where the club was founded.
The building in the Calton area of the city will replace St Mary’s Parish Hall, where hundreds of people gathered for Burns’ funeral in 2008.
The latest documentary follows a series of acclaimed, award winning purpleTV films in recent years, including Gothenburg 83, Honeyballers, Jock Stein, The Famous Five, Jim Baxter, Jimmy Johnstone, Tannadice 87, and Third Lanark.