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Tom Devlin Junior

Tom Devlin Jnr followed in his father's footsteps when he took a seat on the Celtic board in 1949.

Like his father - also Tom - Devlin was a trawler owner. He served on the board until his death in 1986 and was succeeded by Jack McGinn as chairman in June 1986.


Club Obituary
"Last September, as we were preparing for the European Cup Match with Shamrock Rovers in Dublin, we were all shocked and saddened by the news of the death of Tom Devlin, the Chairman of the club. Although he had been quite ill for several months and, eventually, unable to attend matches, we were nonetheless deeply shocked by the suddenness of the sad news.

Considering that Tom Devlin had been a Director of the club since 1947 it was unfortunate that his term of chairmanship had been of only fifteen months duration. However, the winning of the League Championship in memorable fashion at Love Street in May of last year made him a very proud and happy man. Despite his failing health he accepted the League Trophy from the President of the Scottish League Ian Gelately and he escorted his wife Betty to the North East corner of the stadium for the traditional unfurling of the League Championship flag before the opening match of last season.

Tom Devlin, until his retirement from business, was the owner of one of Scotland's biggest fishing trawler fleets. He was also a most able administrator and served for many years on the League Management Committee of The Scottish Football League and on Scottish Association Committees.

He will be sadly missed.

Jack McGinn,
Chairman"

(Source. Celtic Football Guide, Season 1987-88, pg 23-25)