How Phil Cole’s empty beers bottles got us to Celtic Park and into the Jungle

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The Celtic Star

·21. März 2026

How Phil Cole’s empty beers bottles got us to Celtic Park and into the Jungle

Last night on The Celtic Star we posted part 2 of Mike Maher’s recollections of supporting Celtic during the club’s first 9IAR years…

Phil Cole’s Bar Coatbridge. Photo The Celtic Star

We received this response from Frank T, which we thought we’d share with you before publishing the third and final instalment of of this brilliant insight into what it was like supporting Glasgow Celtic as they really did put on a show in the 1960’s and 70s.

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If you are just catching up with this series here are the two likes to the first two instalments.

PART ONE – 9IAR, The First One – The impact of the travelling Celtic support

Celtic supporters. Photo The Celtic Wiki

PART TWO – ‘Infurabevvy’, rebel songs and an ‘alternative education’ on Phil Cole’s buses

Now here’s Frank’c contribution after he read part two last night. Part three to follow shortly on The Celtic Star…

Phil Cole’s bus and the Celtic supporters – early 1960s. Photo social media

Good to hear of the Celtic supporters’ buses leaving from Phil Cole’s pub in Langlone, Coatbridge.

Phil Cole’s barmen stored their empties in a fenced compound behind the pub. Myself and a few friends:- Paddy Boyle, Tom Docherty, David McDade and William Lewis would climb the fence, steal some empties and go into the “Family Dept.” and sell the Beer bottles back to Phil Cole — You got thrupence on an empty, in those days.

Fully flushed with cash we would pay our sixpence to get on to the Phil Coles bus to Parkhead and go into the jungle. We would get lifted over at the turnstyle and we would always have enough spare change to buy the horrible, Macaroon Bars which the pitch-side vendors sold during the game.

Phil Cole’s Coatbridge. Photo social media

Often we stood knee-deep in urine, at the front of the Jungle and sometimes had to wear crash helmets as a defence against the bottles which rained-down, if a refereeing decision went against our beloved team.

I’m sure I must know your writer (Mike Maher) because we all knew each other in those days.

All the lads I have mentioned have now gone to the ‘Great Celtic Park in heaven above’ and I am sure that any of their relatives will not mind me recalling our boyhood exploits.

By the way, the Paddy Boyle I mentioned later became Father Patrick Boyle and I often wonder if he related these evil deeds in confession!

Also I’m sure Phil Cole; God bless him, knew of our racket but allowed us to get to the games anyway. This continued for years until we reached adolescence and by the way; Celtic were rotten in those days and just avoided relegation. Nonetheless they were great days full of innocent adventure.

I hope Phil Cole’s relatives don’t read this article and have me in court seeking reparation for all those empty beer bottles!

Frank T

Mike Maher’s third and final instalment of this series is coming up shortly…

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Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr. Click on image to order