ANOTHER key link with Belfast Celtic's past has been lost, as former player Jimmy Donnelly has passed away in Belfast.
Signed by the team in their last season in football in 1949, Jimmy would go on to be one of the keepers of the club's history and a founder member of the Belfast Celtic Society.
Always a popular figure at Society events, Jimmy would recall with great accuracy the stories and lore of Belfast Celtic and loved to pass on the names of the club's greatest players to younger audiences.
Indeed, one of his last engagements with the Belfast Celtic Society was participating in the Road to Paradise Inter-generational Outreach Programme, funded by the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, which helped pass the story of the club to children and young people.
In 1949, as Belfast Celtic withdrew from football, Jimmy was loaned to Irish League newcomers Crusaders with other young players, like Leo McGuigan and Vincent Morrison from Derry.
In 2001, he was among the Belfast Celtic legends who were feted on the pitch at Celtic Park in Glasgow by then manager Martin O'Neill, who brought the old stars to enjoy the celebrations of the Glasgow Bhoys' Treble winning season.
An accountant by trade, Jimmy helped keep the Society on an even keel and did sterling work tracing the graves of former players and figures associated with the club, which were dotted across Belfast.
As well as playing soccer, he was a member of the O'Donovan Rossa Gaelic Athletic Club in West Belfast and until recently had been immersed in the preparations for that club's centenary year, gathering artifacts and contacting former players and officials.
Padraig Coyle, Belfast Celtic Society Chairman, said; "There will be few members of our Society who did not come across Jimmy Donnelly at some stage and our deep condolences are with his family.
"Jimmy was a founder member of the Society and served as Honourary Vice President for many years, leaving a deep and lasting impression with all who met him.
"He, more than most, was responsible for keeping the name Belfast Celtic alive in the dark years of the 70's and 80's and he was heavily involved in the reunion galas in 1989 and 1991.
"He appeared on radio and television frequently to talk about Belfast Celtic and only last summer he was instrumental in the Irish News producing a twelve page supplement on the history of the Grand Old Team.
"At this sad time, our thoughts are with the Donnelly circle and we urge all Society members to attend his funeral once the details are announced."
