Book Review: Sean Fallon: Celtic’s Iron Man

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Sean Fallon: Celtic’s Iron Man – The authorised biography by Stephen Sullivan.

Back in 2011, I had the great privilege of interviewing Celtic legend Sean Fallon.

For those that don’t know Sean was a former player and captain at Celtic. He was also Jock Stein’s assistant during the nine and a row years and was right beside Jock when Celtic clinched the European cup back in 1967.

The man was a true gentleman. I left Sean’s house that day thinking ‘Why on earth was his story not in book form?’ He had so many wonderful stories to tell.

Thankfully the guys at BackPage Press and author Stephen Sullivan managed to see that a story was there to be told and have now published this superb book.

Once I knew the book would be authorised and Sean plus his family would contribute to it, I was happy as it would be done the right way. I wasn’t disappointed!

Sean was a fantastic loyal family man, whether that be his blood relations or the Celtic family.

The book looks at Sean’s early years, his playing career, his time as Jock’s number two, his departure from Parkhead and his time after Celtic.

Although Sullivan is a fine narrator in telling the Fallon story, I don’t think he will mind me saying that the passages that are Sean’s own words are what make this book great. Like he was with me, Sean and his family must have been very generous with Stephen in terms of time and stories. As a result you get a book that is hard to put down, as it takes you back to eras that have long since gone in football.

It’s wonderful that the book leaves you with the impression that Sean Fallon was a passionate, honest, modest family man. He was all of these things and more.

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I am not a Celtic fan by any stretch but you cannot read this and not come away with anything but admiration for the man who first spotted the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Danny McGrain, Lou Macari and Paul McStay.

The last  paragraphs, in Sean’s words, sum up the man.

“I’m a happy man, son. I’ve had a great life and talking to you for this book has given me a chance to think back on all the great days I had. I’m losing a few of my memories now – more than I’d like – but I still remember enough to know how lucky I’ve been. I have a great wife and family that I couldn’t be more proud of and, at this old age, people still put up with me and want to hear my stories. I never planned on doing a book but I’m glad I’ve done it because I’m sure you’ll give the grandkids something that be nice for them to read when I’m not around. They’ll hopefully see that I tried to live my life the right way, and that I was happy; that I had a dream and I lived that dream. Not many people can say that, but I’ve been one of the lucky ones. The man up there has been good to me, son. I really couldn’t have asked for more.”

For me this book is a must have for any Celtic fan, for anyone keen on Scottish football and for all those that appreciate fine history and tradition.

The book is available HERE.

My interview with Sean can be seen HERE.

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