Threatened footballer’s plight finds sympathetic ear of songwriting fan

THE decision by the Celtic player, Neil Lennon, to quit international football because of a sectarian threat to his life has been commemorated in a new political song.

The verses were written by Hugh Jordan, a Glaswegian living in Belfast, ahead of a radio broadcast last night, and are sung to the tune of Will Ye No’ Come Back Again.

"When you write a political song, it’s important people recognise the tune instantly, so it hits them right between the eyes," said Mr Jordan.

In this case, the perfectly-scanned words of the chorus are "Neally’s no’ goan back again/ Neally’s no’ goan back again/ Efter a’, it’s just a game/ Neally’s no’ goan back again."

Lennon, a Catholic, announced his intention to step down from international football after receiving threats against himself and his family from a man purporting to be a member of the Loyalist Volunteer Force. It was a decision which struck a chord with Mr Jordan, 51, who said he knew Lennon "well enough to say hello to".

The songwriter has previously enjoyed a minor chart hit in Ireland, with The Road to Donegal, a song about emigration from Glasgow’s Gorbals district to western Ireland. Over a 30-year period, he has also written songs critical of Freemasonry and paramilitary violence.

Mr Jordan is also a Celtic fan, a fact evidenced by his most recent verses. The first runs: "Neil Lennon’s no’ gaun back again/ Tae Ulster’s shores he’s said goodbye/ No petrol bombs, no rifle’s crack/ No loyal drums, no bigots cry."

The second reads: "Ulster’s loss was Celtic’s gain/ The bigots paid a heavy price/ In the hoops he’ll never walk alane/ He’s safe back hame in Paradise."

Mr Jordan appears at Edinburgh’s Hub next Wednesday as part of Them and Us, a celebration of Scottish political song.