For those who appreciate football rivalries, you may know that one of the fiercest was Northern Ireland's Linfield vs. Belfast Celtic. It was especially fierce because unfortunately it had a sectarian background, Linfield being protestant and Belfast Celtic Catholic. It was pretty much an Old Firm analogue with a much more virulent sectarian background.
All of a sudden, after a violent derby on Boxing Day 1948 when Linfield fans stormed the field and attacked Belfast Celtic's players, Belfast Celtic decided to withdraw from the Irish League. The club disbanded soon afterwards...
What if Belfast Celtic keeps its Belfast headquarters and pulls an early "Derry City" and starts playing in the (Republic of Ireland's) League of Ireland? Could Derry City and every other Catholic Northern Irish clubs do the same move in the late 40s, early 50s?
The reasoning for this is that Belfast Celtic was a very influential club. We'd see an All-Ireland and All-Catholic League of Ireland to these days and the Irish League would be an exclusive Protestant and Non-Aligned franchise. Would this divide contribute to early Troubles?
Alternatively, Belfast Celtic moves to Dublin. But that won't produce as much butterlfies, I believe.
All of a sudden, after a violent derby on Boxing Day 1948 when Linfield fans stormed the field and attacked Belfast Celtic's players, Belfast Celtic decided to withdraw from the Irish League. The club disbanded soon afterwards...
What if Belfast Celtic keeps its Belfast headquarters and pulls an early "Derry City" and starts playing in the (Republic of Ireland's) League of Ireland? Could Derry City and every other Catholic Northern Irish clubs do the same move in the late 40s, early 50s?
The reasoning for this is that Belfast Celtic was a very influential club. We'd see an All-Ireland and All-Catholic League of Ireland to these days and the Irish League would be an exclusive Protestant and Non-Aligned franchise. Would this divide contribute to early Troubles?
Alternatively, Belfast Celtic moves to Dublin. But that won't produce as much butterlfies, I believe.
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