EXTRACT FROM The Martin ONeill Story BY ANNA SMITH & DAVID McCARTHY .
Walking onto the pitch that night to a packed Brandywell Stadium was a little boy, ten-year old Anthony Martin, who had the honour of being mascot for the historic night. It was to be the best night of his short life. The fanatical Celtic youngster was suffering from leukaemia and was in remission from the illness when he walked out with his heroes. But tragically, he died on the Saturday morning before Celtic clinched the League Championship.
Jim Roddy, Derry City said: When Martin heard about the financial ruin of the club he phoned up and spoke to me. I told him that Kevin had died and about the debts which were going to be so difficult to sort out
It was the night of a share holders meeting and I explained the situation to him. He told me to go and tell the share holders and supporters I am bringing Celtic over and we will all have a good time and help us pull ourselves out of the situation.
I went down and told everybody the news and it was met with rapturous applause. It was massive news, and that was before Martin had done what he has done with Celtic.
We juggled around dates and finally fixed one for October. We kept the prices down to £15.00 for seat and £10.00 to stand. We chartered a plane and flew them into Derry. We put them into a hotel that day and made sure they had everything they needed.
Martin came onto the pitch that night and spoke to the ground and it was unbelievable.
The last time Celtic were in Northern Ireland there was major trouble in Belfast. This was a real occasion. But there wasnt one iota of trouble.
Celtic won 2-1.
We got Celtic back to the airport and got them away. We didnt want them to stay about the City because it could have been an operational nightmare looking after them. What they did for us was fantastic.
During the day I know that he went with his old school pals up to St Columbs and also to the Nazareth House Nursing Home. There were lots of photographs taken of Martin there with the elderly and I presented them with the pictures recently. For a group of elderly people it gave them the best joy of their lives.
Jim hopes Celtic will return to Derry in the near future. He said: I wrote to Martin and Ive asked him to bring Celtic back. After Celtic came, we had Manchester United over after Alex Ferguson heard about our dilemma.
We have totally turned the debt around and now have money in the bank.
But what we would like to do is bring Celtic back and give half of the gate money to a charity he would nominate. We would finance Celtics trip and if there was any money left for us, them fair enough. But the main ethos is to thank the people of the North West who supported us and we would like Celtic to be part of that celebration.
Martin ONeill was the catalyst that saved Derry Football Club from extinction. The club was out of business for 14 years because of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
In 1985 when Derry went back into business it is well catalogued that rioting stopped that weekend and very seldom does it hit the streets of Derry again. Rioting had been a weekly if not a nightly occurrence before that. That is what soccer created for Derry and we were in danger of losing that, but Martin helped reawaken peoples passions and make sure that we keep senior soccer in the City
Jim said that Celtic brought even greater joy to young Anthony Martin who recently died of cancer.
He said: He had leukaemia and was a mad, fanatical Celtic supporter and his father had come and asked me if he could do mascot for the game. He had been in remission when he walked out that night with all his heroes, but his cancer came back and affected his bone marrow and they could do nothing for him.
On the day of his wake the boy was laid out on his bed with his Celtic uniform and the picture of Chris Sutton and the team, proud as punch at the top of his bed.
His father came to me as soon as I walked in the house. He was very emotional and threw his arms around me, and said, that I gave him the best day of his life. But I didnt give him the best day of his life, Martin ONeill did.
It is also a way that sometimes people in football dont realise that they do impinge in peoples lives, but I honestly believe that Martin understands it because he is a human person.
Anthony died on the day Celtic won the league. Instead of bringing the family down a mass card when the lads body was going to the chapel I took him a Celtic shirt, signed by Martin and the players, that I was given on the night of the match with Derry City.
I didnt want to give a wreath or anything because the Celtic shirt seemed more appropriate.
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