Former Celtic duo Simon Donnelly and Jackie McNamara were back together in Glasgow this week, this time nowhere near a football pitch.
Donnelly and McNamara played alongside each other between 1995 and 1999, part of a core group that dragged the club back to the top at a pivotal time.
Donnelly had arrived first.
Signed from Cosmos Canberra in 1993, he spent six years in the east end. He won a league title, a Scottish Cup and a League Cup, and played his part in stopping Rangers’ push for ten in a row. For a generation of supporters, that squad will always carry weight.
McNamara joined in 1995 and went on to give a decade of service.
The former Celtic team-mates were spotted at the O2 Academy as Australian band DMA’s took to the stage. Years on from sharing a dressing room at Celtic Park, the pair still look as tight as ever.
McNamara collected 10 trophies in total, establishing himself as a reliable presence across a period that saw Celtic reassert themselves domestically. He was still there when Martin O’Neill arrived and played a valuable role in the 2000-01 treble-winning side.
That season reset standards.
His consistency and adaptability made him a trusted figure under O’Neill, and his medal haul reflects that. Donnelly had moved on by then, but his contribution to the late 90s turnaround remains clear.
Neither man needs an introduction to the support.
They were part of a side that shifted the balance in the city, restored belief and laid foundations others would build on. Those years were hard-fought and not handed to anyone.
Seeing them together in Glasgow, taking in a gig rather than a title decider, is a reminder of how tight that dressing room was.
Football moves on quickly, while friendships like that tend to last a bit longer.
