Saturday saw a fantastic day of Celtic FC Foundation fundraising, as we were joined in County Cork by supporters from across Ireland, who helped raise an outstanding net total in the region of €12K.

The ‘Celts by the Sea’ day began at the home of event sponsor, Sea Church – a beautiful restaurant and event space in the Ballycotton area of East Cork – as participants were welcomed into the venue for registration ahead of a 9.5km sponsored walk.

After what had been a rainy morning, the sun appeared just in time for a group photo at the Ballycotton Cliff Walk starting point, as participants were also joined by former Celts Mick Conroy and Tosh McKinlay. And the route certainly didn’t disappoint, with some truly breathtaking sea views throughout.

The walk ended back at Sea Church and participants enjoyed a BBQ, before the venue then played host to a wonderful evening of entertainment.

It kicked off with a vote of thanks from Celtic FC Foundation, followed by a Q&A session as Mick Conroy was joined by another former Celt, Paul Elliott. They shared stories and experiences from their time in the Hoops, both looking back with a particular fondness for Celtic greats Billy McNeill and Paul McStay.

Next up we heard from the one and only Tosh McKinlay, who entertained the room with his own very unique brand of humour, before host for the evening and Cork’s very own Tadhg Hickey, did a short stand-up set and concluded with a wonderful performance of ‘Grace’.

After an auction and prize draw, we had live music from Celtic Park favourite, Liam McGrandles, who saw us out with a host of Celtic classics, finishing with a tremendous rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone, with the entire room belting out the anthem.

Net proceeds from the events will support Celtic FC Foundation project delivery in Ireland and a donation will also be made to Cork Simon Community.

Celtic FC Foundation would like to thank everyone who contributed to the Celts By the Sea events and helped make the day and night such a great success, including our sponsor and host venue, Sea Church, the Association of Irish Celtic Supporters Clubs, Cork No.1 CSC, Leeside CSC, Midleton No.7 CSC, Portlairge Emerald CSC, Sliabh Bladhma Laois CSC, Mick Conroy, Paul Elliott, Tosh McKinlay, Tadhg Hickey, Liam McGrandles and each and every individual who got involved, as well as everyone who made a donation.

Thank you for your magnificent support.