GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JUNE 03: (L-R) Peter Lawwell, Dermot Desmond and Michael Nicholson watch on during a Scottish Cup final match between Celtic and Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Hampden Park, on June 03, 2023, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)
There comes a point where frustration stops being about results. It stops being about one bad game or one poor decision and becomes something deeper. Something that sits heavy and refuses to go away. That is exactly where I am now with Dermot Desmond.
Because let’s be honest, what we have heard from his camp this season is nothing new.
It is not even slightly different. It is the same hollow echo we have been subjected to time and time again, only now it sounds louder, colder, and far more detached from reality than ever before. Strip away the wording and what remains is always the same message: we are right, you are wrong.
That is what makes it feel so ridiculous.
How can anyone watch what is unfolding in front of us and still pretend nothing needs to change? The performances are declining, the structure is unclear, and the cracks are obvious. Yet the response is denial.
It is like watching someone try to hold back a flood while insisting the water is not rising. It would almost be impressive if it was not so damaging.
What makes it worse is that the only thing that has changed is the contempt in the tone. When he sent his boy to insult fans at the AGM it was one of the worst moments of this long, horrible season. Deflection, denial, and distance, wrapped in an arrogance that refuses to bend even when everything around it is breaking.
That is not leadership. It is astonishing how lacking in that a man like Desmond has proven to be. You would think a man of his accomplishments would know how. He doesn’t. We are in the middle of a crisis. Performances are collapsing, belief is draining, and you can feel something slipping. At the very moment that demands clarity and honesty, what we get is a stone-faced indifference to it.
Every time there is a chance to step forward, to admit something is wrong, to show awareness, this man and his board retreat into the same rigid position. Ignore the noise. Trust the process. Stay the course.
But staying the course has been the mantra for two decades. Hell, these people boast about that. They haven’t changed course in that time, and that’s part of the problem. They refuse to adapt to the times.
That is why each new message feels worse than the last. Not because the words themselves are more outrageous, but because the gap between those words and reality has become impossible to ignore. What once sounded like confidence now feels like detachment. When the team is riding high it is arrogance. When the team is in this state it is delusional.
Celtic is not just a business. It is not just a balance sheet or a set of decisions made behind closed doors. It is something people care about deeply, something they invest their time, their energy, and their emotion into. To have that brushed aside, to feel like it does not matter, is not just frustrating. It is disrespectful.
All we get from these people are attempts to shift blame, the suggestion that problems lie elsewhere, the quiet narrative that criticism itself is the issue. Looking at where we are now, the idea that we can go on like this seems ludicrous.
The problems did not appear suddenly. They will not go away by ignoring them.
We need accountability, not introspection. We need meaningful action, not just words. Empty, recycled, familiar words that have been repeated too many times.
This is no longer just frustration. It is exhaustion.
Exhaustion from hearing the same lines, from watching the same mistakes, from feeling like supporter voices do not matter. This leads to apathy and nothing is more dangerous to an organisation like Celtic than that. Sever the link between club and fans and you risk losing them for good.
Reality does not care about statements. Football does not care about messaging. Results expose everything eventually, and no amount of carefully managed communication can hide that.
The truth is simple. Everything is slipping, and the response is still denial.
That is not strength, Mr Desmond. It is not leadership.
That is a club refusing to look at itself.
That’s you neglecting your responsibilities and it is cowardly. It is disgraceful.
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In 1991, a company law inspector, solicitor John Glackin, was appointed by the then Government to investigate complicated dealings involving Desmond and the purchase and sale of the former Johnston Mooney & O’Brien site in Ballsbridge, Dublin. While Desmond represented himself as an intermediary in the sale, Glackin’s report said Desmond, businessman JP McManus and John Magnier were beneficiaries of the sale. Desmond strenuously disputed Glackin’s findings.[15] According to the Glackin Report, Hoddle Investments (the vehicle through which the deal was handled) executed two contracts with Telecom Éireann for the sale of the Johnston Mooney & O’Brien site for an aggregate price of £9.4 million, on 7 May 1990.[16][non-primary source needed] The proceeds of the sale were lodged to an NCB account.[17][better source needed]
According to the Moriarty Tribunal report, the next day, on 8 May 1990, £206,613.57 was withdrawn from one NCB account, converted into sterling £200,000 and transferred to the Aurum Nominees No.6 account at NCB (proxied to an offshore Ansbacher Cayman account) held for the benefit of then Taoiseach, Charles Haughey.[18] Aurum Nominees Limited was a company established by NCB for the benefit of its clients, and used at the time by several of the beneficiaries to the deal, including JP McManus, Lochlann Quinn and Martin Naughton. Quinn and Naughton were owed money by Desmond and he used the proceeds of the sale to pay off his debt to them, according to the report.[19][non-primary source needed]
Flood Tribunal
Desmond gave evidence relating to the Century Radio module of the Flood Tribunal. He stated he had given former Fianna Fáil press secretary PJ Mara a loan of £46,000 between 1986 and 1989, as Mara said he had run into financial difficulties. Desmond said he made the payments by cheque.[20][non-primary source needed]
Moriarty Tribunal
The Moriarty Tribunal found that Desmond made substantial payments to Taoiseach Charles Haughey. In September 1994, Desmond made a payment of £100,000 sterling to Haughey and in October 1996 he made a payment of £25,000 sterling. While Desmond claims these payments to be loans, repayable by Haughey, the Tribunal did not accept this explanation. Ultimately Haughey was forced to settle with the Revenue Commissioners, as it appears he had failed to declare the payments from Desmond.[citation needed]
The Tribunal noted that the payments were made via the Swiss bank account of a company called Anesia Etablissement, Banque Scandinave en Suisse, Case Postale 901, 1211 Geneva 3, of which Desmond was the beneficial owner, via an account at Henry Ansbacher & Company to an account at Cayman International Bank Trust Company, held for Haughey’s benefit.[18] £25,000 was paid via Desmonds’s Bottin International Investments Limited which had an account with Anglo Irish Bank, 69 Athol Street, Douglas, Isle of Man.[21] Desmond said Haughey asked him for the money in 1996 because of “a shortage of funds”.[22][non-primary source needed]
Desmond also loaned money to Feltrim plc, which was at the time managed by Charles Haughey’s son, Conor Haughey. In August 1991, Desmond loaned the company £55,000, made up of £40,000 loaned on 12 August 1991 and £15,000 on 28 August 1991.[23] Conor Haughey told the Tribunal that the company was in danger of being liquidated and he approached Desmond for the money. The loan was never repaid, and was instead converted into equity.[24][non-primary source needed]
Celtic Mist
Desmond also paid £75,456 for the refurbishment of Haughey’s yacht, the Celtic Mist, between 1990 and 1991, at a time according to the Tribunal, that Haughey earned between £69,764 and £72,354 a year as Taoiseach. Desmond said this payment was a loan, but the Tribunal disagreed, stating again that Haughey had settled with the Revenue Commissioners in relation to the sum, having failed to pay Capital Gains Tax at the time. The Tribunal also found that the yacht itself amounted to an indirect benefit to Haughey. This was despite it being unable to find the source of the £167,073.90 paid for the yacht.[18] Haughey’s son Conor told the Tribunal in 1999 that he had learned money to refurbish the yacht had come from the bank account of Freezone Limited. Money from the sale of the Johnston Mooney & O’Brien site had ended up in the same account – a revelation that Conor Haughey said he was “very concerned” about.[25]
The yacht was subsequently given to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group by the family of Haughey and now operates as a maritime research vessel.[26]
Esat Digifone
Desmond was an investor in Esat Digifone through his International Investment Underwriters (IIU) vehicle, ultimately owning 20% of the company. It was reported that he made up to £100 million in profit after selling his stake in Esat.[citation needed]
Football
Desmond is the largest individual shareholder of the Scottish Premiership football club Celtic.[27][non-primary source needed] Desmond previously held a stake in Manchester United. He sold the stake to Malcolm Glazer in 2005.[citation needed]
In October 2019, Desmond purchased a 25% stake in League of Ireland club Shamrock Rovers.[28]
Horse racing
Desmond’s racehorse Commanche Court won the Triumph Hurdle (1997), the Irish Grand National (2000), the Punchestown Gold Cup (2000), the Lismullen Hurdle (1998), the Christmas Hurdle (1998) and the Spring Juvenile Hurdle
And thats without delving deep into panama
Given the similarity of Dave King bribing a Government official and Dermot Desmond allegedly doing the same is Dermot Desmond Celtics Dave King without the “glib and shameless liar “ moniker? 🙂
The only way we can rid ourselves of the leeches is by withdrawing our support and money which won’t happen due to our love for the club. The acquisition of shares propsition will take time to come to bear any fruit, so we’re stuck with the parasites for the foreseeable future. I’ve never felt so disheartened with the way things are at the club, and if there are no changes made withdrawal might be our only option.
An excellent article! Between this article and the comments above, it’s clear that Dermot Desmond should no longer be a part of Celtic, he is bringing our club into disrepute and should divest his shares to those who would do a better job for our beloved Celtic!
Sounds like DD could teach an eel how to wriggle and be twice as slimy.
He’ll be thinking (for my age group anyway)…
You were a Celtic supporter from 1989-1995 when youse won fuck all…
Look at what I’ve (me me fuckin me) done for youse since then…
Ungrateful bastards youse are the lot of youse…
He’s a Celtic supporter ma arse…
He should have us miles away from Sevco – Fuckin miles away…
But they’re a ‘great club’ (his pathological lies, not mine)…
And now we’re gonna have a year, probably more of 56, 57 etc all Pathological fuckin lies but I’ll still have to listen to it in pubs and at bus stops !
Desmond showed his disdain for the working class betting man when he altered the strategy of Ladbrokes. He felt they were offering too generous odds on bets like correct scores and drastically slashed them by more than half and other bookmakers followed suit.
These were the types of low stake bets my late brother and father always placed, yankees, lucky 63’s etc. My brother would regularly bet on 6 x 2-2 correct scores and won a good few quid doing so when he was my mum’s carer.
He would get odds of at least 15-1 on those score lines but Desmond slashed it to 7-1 or less. What a horrible, faceless, snivelling coward of a “man” he is!