Neil Lennon responded to his midweek troubles in perfect fashion with his first goal for Celtic in an impressive 3-0 victory at East End Park.
Wonderful strikes from Stilian Petrov and Henrik Larsson put Celtic two ahead by half-time before the Swede closed in on Brian McClair's 1986 SPL record of 35 goals in a season with his 32nd.
But the day belonged to Lennon, who is considering his future in international football after being subjected to abuse from a section of the Northern Ireland fans on Wednesday in their 4-0 home defeat to Norway.
The former Leicester City favourite, however, hit back in defiant style to help Martin O'Neill's men go 13 points clear of Rangers at the top of the SPL.
Celtic had only 11 minutes to wait for their opener when Petrov played a superb one-two with Larsson before coolly slotting the ball past Marco Ruitenbeek.
The visitors extended their lead form a free-kick after Ian Ferguson - who was subjected to abuse from Celtic fans because of his Rangers background - had brought down Alan Thompson in the 26th minute.
Three Celtic players stood over the ball, but it was Larsson who hit an unstoppable right-foot shot into the top corner from just outside the area.
Lennon completed the scoring in the 85th minute when Tommy Johnson's header from Alan Thompson's corner came back off the upright and the midfielder steered his shot past Ruitenbeek.
Martin O'Neill paid tribute to Lennon after the game, saying: "After the week he's had it was magnificent for him to score and for me personally it was great to see him respond that way.
"He joined us before Christmas and his performances have been brilliant and he was magnificent again today.
"There was never any question that he wouldn't play today and he has become a bit of a cult hero with the fans and that will have elevated him to an even higher status.
"He has proved himself here. I haven't really discussed the matter with him any further apart from a short time on Friday morning. But he hasn't made a decision yet on his international future but he will do so this week."
O'Neill admitted that striker Chris Sutton has suffered shoulder ligament damage and is doubtful for Wednesday's Scottish Cup replay with Dunfermline at Parkhead.
Dunfermline manager Jimmy Calderwood was understandably disappointed with his side's display and revealed that he substituted Ferguson because of the abuse he was getting from the Celtic fans.
The former Rangers midfielder received a booking for a foul on Petrov, but before he was taken off in the 75th minute he was subjected to boos and songs from the travelling support.
Calderwood said: "I knew just the way he is that he wasn't enjoying it out there.
"He was getting some stick for his background. I knew he loves winning football games but I decided to bring him off at that time."
Meanwhile, Hibernian, remain in third position after a 1-1 draw at home to Motherwell last night.
DUNFERMLINE: Ruitenbeek, Skinner, Skerla, Rossi, Dair, Nicholson, Ferguson (Tod 75), Moss (Hampshire 69), Scott Thomson, Crawford, Dijkhuizen (McGroarty 45). Subs Not Used: Scott Y Thomson, Doesburg. Booked: Nicholson, Ferguson.
CELTIC: Douglas, Mjallby, Vega, Valgaeren, Petrov, Agathe, Lennon (Crainey 82), Lambert, Thompson, Larsson, Sutton (Johnson 13). Subs Not Used: Gould, Boyd, Moravcik. Goals: Petrov 11, Larsson 25, Lennon 77.
Referee: H Dallas (Scotland).
