Charles Gallagher (3 November 1940 – 11 July 2021) was a

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as an

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

. At club level he played mainly for

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, as well as

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

. Born in Scotland, he represented the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

at international level, making two appearances for the team in 1967. He was a member of the renowned

Lisbon Lions The Lisbon Lions is the nickname given to the Celtic F.C., Celtic team that won the UEFA Champions League, European Cup at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal on 25 May 1967 European Cup Final, 1967, defeating Inter Milan 2–1. Name The ...

team that won the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

in May 1967.

Early life

Gallagher was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

on 3 November 1940. His parents came from

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, Ireland and one of his cousins,

Paddy Crerand Patrick Timothy Crerand (born 19 February 1939) is a Scottish former Association football, footballer who played as a Wing half, right half. After six years at Celtic F.C., Celtic, he moved to Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, where he ...

, also played for

. Gallagher first played football for St. John's (

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, and former burgh, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and e ...

) Boys' Guild in 1952 and Holyrood Senior Secondary the following year. He went on to play for Kilmarnock Amateurs in 1955 and Yoker Athletic in 1958. John Murphy, his secondary school

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

teacher who also served as an announcer at

Parkhead Parkhead () is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet (place), hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necro ...

on match days, recommended him to Celtic.

Professional career

Gallagher made his debut for Celtic on 22 August 1958 during a 1–0 victory over Raith Rovers F.C. in the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

. He then made his full debut on 6 March the following year, when

Jock Stein John Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He was the first manager of a club from a Northern European country to win the European Champio ...

signed him as to a professional contract that same day. Gallagher took the

corner kick A corner kick, commonly known as a corner, is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defe ...

that resulted in

Billy McNeill William McNeill (2 March 1940 – 22 April 2019) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He had a long association with Celtic F.C., Celtic, spanning more than sixty years as a player, m ...

's winning goal in the final of the 1965 Scottish Cup. Two years later, he was made

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

for a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Elgin City. This was in tribute to his accomplishment of playing for the

, becoming the first player born in Scotland to represent the team when he played against

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

on 22 February 1967. Gallagher was part of the

squad that won the European Cup Final that same year, which saw him score four goals in the run-up to the final. Although he did not start in the final, the club maintained that he "has always been rightly acknowledged as part of the Lisbon Lions squad". Gallagher played for Celtic for over a decade, making a total of 171 appearances and scoring 32 goals. This included 106 Scottish League appearances and 17 league goals. He also played in 13 European games. He stayed with the club until 1 May 1970, when he signed for

. He scored 40 goals in 95 games for the club, and won the Division Two championship in 1971–72, before retiring from professional football in April 1973. Gallagher subsequently worked as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

for Celtic from 1976 to 1978. He was later employed as a

taxi driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. Set in a morally decaying New York City following the Vietnam War, it stars Robert De Niro as veteran Marine and ...

Personal life

Gallagher resided in

Bishopbriggs Bishopbriggs (; ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the northern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the Glasgow city centre, city centre. Shires of Scotland, Historically in Lanarkshire, the area was once part of ...

with his wife Maryrose. Together, they had three children: Paul, Kieron, and Claire. His biography ''Charlie Gallagher? What A Player'', authored by David W. Potter, was released in 2016. Gallagher died on 11 July 2021, at the age of 80.

Honours

Celtic *

: 1966–67 * Scottish League: 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

Dumbarton * Scottish Division Two: 1971–72

References

External links