Scotland's troubled links with sectarian Irish politics erupted again yesterday with the resignation of Rangers football club's vice-chairman after he had been filmed singing loyalist songs.
Mr Donald Findlay QC, who is one of the Scotland's best-known criminal defence lawyers, was forced to quit after a story in the Daily Record gave details of a party at which he had led the crowd in songs such as The Sash, Derry's Walls and Billy Boys.
Mr Findlay admitted a serious error of judgment after Rangers defeated arch-rivals Celtic FC in the Scottish FA Cup final in the city on Saturday.
The two clubs have been trying to move beyond the bigoted sectarian associations they have long had in Scotland and Ireland, and both have banned hundreds of supporters for provocative singing at matches.
While Rangers fans and players were celebrating their 1-0 victory 40 minutes after the match ended, a 16-year-old youth wearing a Celtic green and white shirt was being stabbed to death in a nearby street. On Sunday, two men were arrested in connection with the incident and are due to appear in court today. Although another student, also wearing a Celtic shirt and returning from the match, was treated in intensive care after being shot with a crossbow, Strathclyde Police said the match itself had passed off without serious incidents. This followed a night of violence on May 2nd, after the two teams last met. Then, after Rangers clinched top place in the premier league, there was a pitch invasion and the referee was hit in the face by a coin.
Mr Findlay (48), a prominent activist in the Scottish Conservative Party, who is said not to celebrate his birthday because it falls on St Patrick's Day, was filmed on video singing lyrics such as: We're up to our necks in Fenian blood, surrender or you'll die, because we are the Bridgeton Billy Boys.
Last week, Mr Findlay was on the front of the Daily Record over the break-up of his five-year relationship with a television journalist, and he was recently reprimanded by the country's legal watchdog for a derogatory comment he made about a jury.