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| Accordingly on 31st October 1983 a meeting was held in the upstairs Lounge Bar of the Carlton Hotel in Newmarket to discuss the idea of setting up a Celtic club in New Zealand. All of those present – Phil Dunseath, Jimmy Miller, Joe Collins, Mick Reilly, Pat Magee (snr), Peter Magee, Pat Magee (jnr) and Peter McErlean- were in favour of “establishing a Celtic Soccer team in Auckland”. As is seen from that statement the main idea was creating a Celtic team to play football in Auckland. At that point the idea of being a conventional Supporters Club was not a major consideration. After all it was unlikely that they could organise transport to get people to Celtic games in Scotland! And in those days the idea of getting together to watch live games or even videos of previous games was unimaginable. Main discussion centred on getting a permanent playing field as it was felt that once that was achieved everything else would follow. Peter McErlean was also on the local GAA committee and advised that that body was in discussion with Otahuhu Council regarding use of Seaside Park for Gaelic Football over the summer months and suggested that any new Celtic club might be able to use it during the winter season. Joe Collins was given the task of making enquiries with the football authorities regarding the procedure for registering a club. Pat Magee advised he had a contact which could provide clothing such as sweaters and polo shirts at wholesale prices that could be used for uniforms for the new club. Jimmy Miller proposed that all present should donate $25 to open a bank account. All agreed with this and also all agreed to make enquiries regarding a possible playing field. Finally Peter McErlean advised he would write to Celtic in Glasgow enquiring about setting up a Supporters Club. Somewhat appropriately that first meeting took 90 minutes and ended with the decision to hold a second meeting at Mick Reilly’s house on 21st November. At the second meeting on 21st November 1983 at Mick Reilly’s home in Henderson, Mick offered to loan the club a considerable amount of money to establish a bank account. However although his offer was appreciated it was felt that the club should make an effort to obtain funds through its own actions. Accordingly at the next meeting on 27th February 1984 Pat Magee advised that he had arranged for a supply of Tote Tickets which would be sold at $2 each providing a weekly profit of $50 for the club. At that same meeting lots of discussion centred on getting a ground to play on and Pat Magee reported that Onehunga Council had indicated that a pitch at Waikaraka Park would be made available every Sunday from 15th April. Peter McErlean advised he had still had no reply to his letters to Glasgow regarding joining the Celtic Supporters Association. However he had spoken to a visitor from Glasgow who was returning home and who advised he would follow up the matter in person. At the end of the meeting Mick Reilly suggested an advert be put in local papers to seek members for the proposed new club. A brief meeting was held on 2nd April 1984 and all who attended
agreed that an advertisement be put in the “8 O’ Clock”
which was a Saturday Evening Sports newspaper of the time. By the
time of the next meeting on 25th April 1984 at Pat Magee’s
home in Seccombes Road in Epsom many responses to that advertisement
had been received. This response obviously confirmed the interest
in a Celtic club and so the first committee was elected and the
Club was underway. That first committee was – It was decided that a Social should be held soon so that all new members could meet up. Also decided was to go ahead with a football match at Waikaraka Park. Joe Collins would be in charge of the team assisted by Mick Reilly. Pat Magee revealed that he had tried to have the club registered as Celtic A. F. C. However as there was a Rugby club in Napier with the name of Celtic the proposed new name could not be accepted without the Napier club’s permission. After some discussion it was decided not to contact the Napier outfit and rather than register as an Incorporated Society the club was set up in name of Celtic Associated Soccer Club. As can be seen from this the main aim of the original committee was to have a Celtic team playing football in New Zealand. This is further emphasised by another item on the agenda at that meeting which saw lengthy discussion regarding getting the club involved in the Northern Qualifying League for the 1985 season. The final notes of that important meeting revealed that the new club was already in reasonable financial state having $353.20 in the bank and holding stock of 102 cans of Steinlager and a cask of wine! The first game for the new club took place on 29th April with a 7-1 win over a Fire Service team. Over the next few weeks the club team played 3 more games, all won comfortably, before the winter weather caused some postponements. By the time of the next meeting on 4th June the funds had increased to $528.20 and a decision was taken to hold a social at Caltex House in Auckland as soon as the venue was available. Joe Collins requested that Mick Reilly be given sole charge of the football team and also suggested that an approach be made to Mt Albert Ponsonby Football club regarding a possible link up. What became of that suggestion is not recorded but it indicated the Club’s desire to get into the Northern League as soon as possible. At this stage the playing strips were being borrowed from the Auckland Celtic GAA team and it was decided then that attempts should now be started to obtain their own kit. The Social proved to be a great success. Pat Magee provided the catering and Phil Dunseath organised the music- a folk group with songs that proved popular for anyone with Celtic leanings. At the meeting of 3rd September 1984 the secretary was able to advise that correspondence had at last been received from the Celtic Supporters Association in Glasgow and all agreed that the New Zealand Celtic Supporters Club should join up as soon as possible. At this meeting the idea of a “Video Night’ for members was raised and all present agreed that as soon a suitable venue was found the night should be organised. That venue was found by Phil Dunseath and at the meeting on 15th October 1984 it was decided that the Club’s first ever Video Night would be held at the Auckland Press Club in Albert St. The Celtic Story would be shown and the admission charge would be $3.00. At the same meeting Mick Reilly advised that club pullovers had been arranged, and 2 new committee members were elected- Tom Patterson and Mick Maher. The arrival of Mick Maher at this stage had an important impact on the Club. He knew of someone in Scotland who was prepared to act as a delegate for the Club. In those days before emails and internet and when phone calls were awkward and expensive contact with the Celtic Supporters Association could be difficult. However Chic Doherty from Bellshill was happy to accept the role as delegate and faithfully attended all Association meetings and reported back to the Club in Auckland. He also was willing to meet up with any visitors from New Zealand and assist with match tickets and visits to Celtic Park. Another important contact at that time was Mick Maher’s father, James, also in Bellshill. He was an extremely reliable source for Video tapes and soon a regular supply of video tapes was established meaning that members in New Zealand would be able to see the Bhoys in action on a regular basis. The actual date of that first video night is not recorded but the minutes of subsequent meetings indicate that it was a success and further nights were organised. When news got around that football videos were arriving regularly there was a further upsurge in membership. Quite a few of these were not actually Celtic fans but Scottish football fans anxious to see games involving teams they had not seen for years. One of the biggest crowds at the Press Club venue was for the Celtic V Rapid Vienna game which had actually generated some comment in the New Zealand media. This was a time of course when there was a bit more competition in the Scottish game and even games not involving Celtic were popular with the crowds. One of the biggest crowds for a video night was actually for a Billy Connelly show which did not appear on TV in New Zealand for another year. On 3rd December Pat Magee resigned as President apparently due to other commitments but was asked to stay on board as a committee member, attending meetings when possible. Accordingly the last committee meeting of 1984 saw the Club in good heart. The treasurer was able to report that a balance of $1227 was in the bank, all pullovers had been sold and there was still a stock of beer held! With a view to the 1985 football season in New Zealand Mick Maher was requested to make enquiries regarding joining the Auckland Sunday Business House League. The New Year started with the news that there was an opportunity for the club to get a shortcut into the Northern League. At that time Mick Maher was playing with Grey Lynn who were in the Northern League 3rd Division. The Western Springs based team however were in financial trouble and had also lost their coach and several players. Over the opening months of 1985 meetings were held and it was eventually agreed that the Celtic Supporters Club committee members would move into the Grey Lynn committee and take responsibility for running the first team and reserves. The name Grey Lynn Celtic was adopted and the famous green and white hoops would now appear on the New Zealand football scene.
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