Know Your History – Matt Corr’s Celtic in the Thirties Q&A

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The Celtic Star

·10 October 2024

Know Your History – Matt Corr’s Celtic in the Thirties Q&A

Earlier today we spoke to Celtic in the Thirties author Matt Corr about his new project and what inspired him to write about that particular decade in Celtic’s history…

Celtic in the Thirties author Matt Corr at Celtic Park. Photo AJ for The Celtic Star

The Celtic Star: So Matt, your two books are finished and on the printer’s presses. Obvious first question. What made you choose Celtic in the 1930s as your latest topic?

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Matt Corr: Part design, part accident to be honest. It’s a decade which has always fascinated me, and that goes back to my childhood, listening to The Johnny Thomson song and the tales of Jimmy McGrory. Some fabulous triumphs mixed in with the saddest of tragedies. Classic Celtic. Characters we revere and stories we share to this day. So for me this was an era which was crying out for the definitive story to be told.

The autograph sheet that sparked a three year writing project

But the trigger to get this underway was probably an autograph sheet sent to me by an old pal, probably three or four years ago now. It contained the names of some famous Celts and others who were less known. It had been in his family for years, but he didn’t know the context. Not even the year it was from. He asked for help and I got to work narrowing it down.

In doing so, I uncovered some of the stories behind the names and before you know it, I’m writing articles on the players.

I called the series ‘And they gave us James McGrory and…’ It ran on The Celtic Star and, as with a few of these things I get involved in, it grew well beyond a blog post into something more substantial. The Harry Hood biography was the same. I then decided to do the book and started the structure and research formally for that in early 2022.

The Celtic Star: What’s the format for the two books?

Matt Corr: It’s a step-by-step walkthrough of a period which starts with the opening of effectively a new Celtic Park in the summer of 1929 and ends with the retirement of Willie Maley in February 1940. In Celtic terms alone, that is a monumental era with an incredible amount happening, hence the fact that two volumes have been required to do it justice. The period neatly divides into two sections for a number of reasons, which is perfect, but I won’t throw in any spoilers as to exactly why that is!

The heroes and legends are all in there, of course, but a big part of what we do is making sure that all of the stories are told. So whether you were involved for five minutes or 500 games then we want to ensure you get recognition. You lived the dream. Over 300 Celts are featured. I’m really proud of that and hope that will mean a lot to the families of those players.

Celtic in the Thirties, Published by Celtic Star Books, 4/11/24. Image: The Celtic Star

The Celtic Star: Were any of the families involved?

Matt Corr: Absolutely. I’ve been in contact with quite a few of the relatives of the players from that era. John Divers, Bobby Hogg, Frank Murphy, Malcolm MacDonald and Peter Scarff immediately spring to mind. My pal’s granda John Connor is in there. He was a proud Garngad Celt and great friends with Jimmy McGrory. That was the final part of the process, which in itself has taken more than a year to complete but for me was hugely important. To get those personal insights. To see the memorabilia. To honour those men. My cousin told me a story about my own Granda and uncle which I had never heard, and which was very moving. Even my dear friend Tommy Callaghan’s family make an appearance, as do another couple of wonderful gents who have no idea they are involved, but again no more spoilers!

The Celtic Star: What are your hopes for the books?

Matt Corr: Well as always at the launch of a book, I have that curious mix of nerves, excitement and trepidation. My overriding hope is that folk enjoy them and regard them as decent additions to their Celtic collection. For me it’s all about quality and substance over quantity, so we’ve put everything into getting the design and content as good as it can be even though it took longer. I’ve put my heart and soul into this and I’m really proud of what we’ve produced.

I’ve been very fortunate to enjoy the support of some real stars across the Celtic community.

David Potter RIP

David Potter, God rest him, was involved in the early days and Pat Woods has been a huge help over the past year or so, providing materials, insight and even sharing the stories of his own father and grandfather in the context of the book, which were superb. Pat and two of my Celtic Park tour guide colleagues Martin and Manus undertook proof-reading duties, a thankless but crucial task, and we have added a real touch of class with the inclusion of graphics from the wonderful @CelticCurio. They really enhance the photoblocks, side by side with some classic images.

Celtic in the Thirties – Volume One

Celtic in the Thirties – Volume Two

The Celtic Star: Final question…when can we expect these books and where will they be available?

Matt Corr: Pre-orders are being taken as of now via our bookstore, celticstarbooks.com. That will guarantee you a signed and/or dedicated copy. We’ve split our normal print run over both volumes, so this will be a limited edition. The books are selling like the proverbial hot-cakes after launching last night. All previous readers of our books have been emailed and there was a great piece on The Celtic Star last night.

The books will also be on sale at official Celtic FC outlets in due course. I find it incredible how many Celtic supporters have bought all of the Celtic Star Books, dating back to Invincible five years ago, and feed back how they enjoy them and how proud they are of their collection. That’s quite humbling to be honest. And virtually everyone who has pre-ordered so far has purchased both volumes. That works really well because we only charge for postage on one book per order so there’s a wee saving there.