Hibernian Football Club: The Forgotten Irish?

Abstract

The popular expression of the Irish sporting diaspora in Scotland has traditionally been closely associated with Celtic Football Club, despite Hibernian Football Club (Hibs), formed in 1875 by the Catholic Young Men's Society, being the first prominent Irish Catholic football club in Scotland. During Hibs’ history, with increasing assimilation into Edinburgh and Scottish society, there have been periods when the club's Irish Catholic ethos has been challenged, resulting in its identity having to be renegotiated. For some supporters (Catholic) ‘Irish’ symbols signify a simplistic and pejorative association to ‘sectarian’ and as such there have been periods when they have downplayed this element of their identity. [1 [1] See Kelly Kelly, John. “A Critical Analysis of the Frameworks Used to Analyse “Sectarianism” in Scottish Media Discourse.” Unpublished MA dissertation, Chelsea School, University of Brighton 2002 [Google Scholar], ‘Flowers of Scotland?: A Sociological Analysis of Scottish National Identity, Rugby Union and Association Football’. During interviews conducted with football supporters from Hibs, Hearts, Partick Thistle and rugby union clubs (Hawick, Edinburgh Accies, Glasgow Hawks), some respondents expressed the belief that Irish symbols, like the Irish Tricolour and national anthem are ‘sectarian’. Additionally, some Hibs respondents expressed disdain towards Irish symbolism within their club – even when accepting them as ‘legitimately linked to the club’ – for fear of being labelled ‘sectarian’. ] This makes erroneous any claims that Hibs is the Celtic of the East. However, at the same time, it is naive to disregard the efficacy which ‘Irishness’ holds for sections of Hibs' supporters. In the increasingly secularized and corporatized environment of the Scottish Premier League, there are renewed attempts, for different reasons perhaps, at reclaiming Hibs' ‘Irishness’ within the club itself and among some of its supporters. Ironically, this process of Hibs reclaiming its ‘Irishness’ is occurring when sections of Celtic's supporters are increasingly questioning the legitimacy of their ‘Irishness’. [2 [2] Celtic's two most prominent unofficial supporters' websites (www.keep-the-faith.net and www.kerrydalestreet.co.uk) have had numerous articles/threads discussing these issues at length in the last two years alone, with many acknowledging the increasing importance of discussing the issues in light of the Scottish Executive's recent anti-sectarian initiatives. ] This essay attempts to locate and analyse the sense of ‘Irishness’ existing among Hibs supporters today. Hibs' relationship with its main ‘other’, Heart of Midlothian Football Club (Hearts), is shown to exhibit a unique inter-city Edinburgh rivalry that intimately affects the nature of Hibs' ‘Irishness’, ensuring its differences from that of Celtic's. The interconnected nature of Hibs' and Celtic fans' respective sense of ‘Irishness’ is demonstrated in the increased confidence and desire of Hibs FC to begin reclaiming its ‘Irishness’ without fear of being associated with the often disdainfully viewed Celtic or ‘sectarianism’.

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