Stephen O’Donnell: Grace.
I went to university in England and one of my mates was a big fan of Charlton Athletic.
Charlton are a great community club and I went along to a couple of games at Selhurst Park where the Addicks were ground sharing at the time.
One of the songs their fans were singing, aimed at their South London rivals went along the lines of: “My old man said be a Palace fan and I said f@ck off, bollocks, you’re a c@nt.”
I didn’t bother to join in.
Such chants are entirely typical of most other British football clubs.
When I first heard Grace being sung by the Green Brigade at Celtic Park I remember thinking, what a beautiful song, I have to find out what they’re singing.
It turned out to be a wonderful, historically reflective ballad, which shines a light on an important period in the struggle for Irish self-determination. Now everyone, it seems, is singing Grace, from Rod Stewart to Gaelic football players.
The best version though (apart from the Green Brigade) has to be by Donna Taggert, an Irish singer whose beautiful voice is matched only by her good looks.
The animation which accompanies it (available on YouTube) is genuinely moving and was released around the time of the centenary of the Easter Rising in 2016.
I’d urge all Celtic supporters to check it out.