Thursday, October 19 is the next big date in the diary for one of Celtic FC Foundation’s supporter fundraisers, Matt Corr. Matt is a Stadium Tour Guide here at Celtic Park and in the past has run some of the World Marathon Majors to raise funds on our behalf, including New York City and Tokyo, then Boston earlier this year.

Matt recently joined our Celtic FC Foundation Supporters’ Committee and also plans to travel with Celtic FC Foundation on their next overseas volunteer trip to Africa. Away from the tours, races and following Celtic, Matt’s other passion is writing, and this month sees the launch of his third solo book project, Majic, Stan and The King of Japan, (available to purchase HERE) the story of Gordon Strachan’s remarkable first season as Celtic Manager.

The book will be launched at a very special Celtic event to be held in the Kerrydale Suite on Thursday, October 19, 2023. This will be an evening of Celtic chat and music, as we celebrate not only the achievements of that special campaign, but also the anniversary of Hampden in the Sun, which took place on the same day back in 1957. There will also be poignant tributes to Johnny Doyle, who tragically passed away on that day in 1981, and legendary Celtic author David Potter, who died at the end of July and who was the biographer of Willie Fernie, the man who starred and scored the final goal in that unforgettable 7-1 League Cup final victory. In David’s memory, proceeds from sales on the night of that Willie Fernie biography Putting on The Style, will be donated entirely to Celtic FC Foundation, and we will also receive 25% of the profits from the event ticket sales.

John Hartson and Stephen McManus are amongst the star guests already confirmed for the unique event. The 2005-06 campaign was hugely significant for both players, a breakthrough season for young defender Stephen which featured vital goals in a season-defining classic encounter at Tynecastle on New Year’s Day, whilst Welsh hitman John joined an elite club by scoring his 100th goal for the Club in November, before adding a title-clinching effort against Hearts in April…on his 31st birthday, no less. Other special guests have been lined up and will be announced in due course and music on the evening will be provided by Celtic favourites Boolavogue.

This will be Matt’s first book launch, and he explained why that’s the case when we caught up with him, as he worked on preparations for the big night. He said: “My first two books, Invincible and Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys – a collaboration with Liam Kelly and David Potter – were released during the COVID19 pandemic and the lockdown made it impossible to hold any kind of event to mark those. And my third publication, the Harry Hood biography Twice As Good, was launched just before Christmas and for a number of reasons it just wasn’t really viable to do anything at that time. So here we are more than three years down the line. I am really nervous, but it should be a great night with something for everyone to enjoy.

“We have two of the key players from that incredible season providing insights into what was a real rollercoaster of a campaign, albeit with a happy ending in terms of silverware. We will have the Treble trophies on display for photo opportunities, guest speakers talking about other characters featured in our books to date, signed books for sale and music from the excellent Celtic band Boolavogue. We’ll be announcing other guests also over the course of the next week.”

“I’ve received incredible support from all across the Club in the lead-up to this event, and in general since I started writing a few years ago. From the Events team, Stadium Tours, PR, Media, Retail, all over really, and, of course from Celtic FC Foundation itself, which is very close to my heart.

“We have kept the prices down to £20 for individual tickets or £180 for a table for 10 to encourage a high turnout. These can be obtained now at celticstarbooks.com/shop. It would be lovely to see as many folk there as possible for what should be a really special night and to give us the best possible chance of raising some money for the Foundation.”

If you fancy a highly enjoyable ‘Celtic evening’ and the opportunity to support Celtic FC Foundation in the process, why not get yourself along to the Kerrydale Suite on Thursday, October, 19. Tickets are available HERE.