As thousands of Celtic fans filled Glasgow’s Trongate area to mark their team lifting the Scottish Premiership trophy, photographer Simon Murphy was there to capture the energy, colour and chaos. Despite the club urging restraint, the unofficial celebrations saw flares lit, chants belted out through the streets, and fans climbing traffic lights beneath a circling police helicopter.

Murphy, a Glasgow-based photographer and lecturer, has been documenting Celtic and the city for years. This latest shoot forms part of a wider project exploring the culture and emotion surrounding the club. From a child screaming in joy to a fan defiantly gesturing skyward, his images mix humour, intensity and deep connection to place.

Having covered iconic figures from the Lisbon Lions to Henrik Larsson, Murphy’s work focuses as much on portraits as it does on big moments. The title day was visually overwhelming, but for him, the real challenge—and joy—comes in curating the story after the fact.

For Murphy, football photography is about more than the game. It’s about community, memory and the raw emotion that defines football culture—from elation to heartbreak, all of it written across the faces of the fans.

Simon Murphy: I am from Glasgow and support Celtic, but didn’t grow up supporting any team in particular. In fact, the first team that caught my attention was Aberdeen because they were doing so well in the 80’s. Willie Miller, Alex McLeish, Lim Leighton in the pages of Shoot magazine. My friends were Rangers fans but honestly, when I watched the games in the pubs, it was the Celtic fans who celebrated more. Rangers fans seemed to be angry whether they lost or won. I just liked the party atmosphere. When I was a college student, studying photography, I wrote to the various Glasgow clubs to see if I could shoot a match or two and it was Celtic who let me in. I hardly took any pictures as I could only afford one roll of film, so i just sat and watched the games from the photographer’s pit. 

Lower Block: What does the club mean to you now?

SM: I have grown to love Celtic. Over the years I have photographed a lot of the key players from the ‘Lisbon Lions’ to Henrik Larsson. The stories and exploits from the old timers were fantastic. I don’t have a season ticket but a fellow photographer and friend, Tony Porter, often gives me his sons ticket and it’s brilliant tagging alone with him and Diarmid to watch the hoops tear it up on the park. 

LB: Are you still shooting professionally?

SM: Nowadays I am lecturer in photography but worked in magazines and newspapers for many years. The shift to lecturing meant that mostly I focus on personal projects now. My most recent project was based around the community in Govanhill. Govanhill is an area in the southside of Glasgow recognised for it’s cultural diversity. There are 88 languages spoken within a square mile. Govanhill traditionally was a point of arrival for many coming to Scotland from countries around the world. When I stayed in Govanhill in the 90’s and early 2000’s, It was joked that there were two sides: Bengal and Donegal due to the numbers of South Asian and Irish immigrants. 

LB: It sounds like football in gernal was a slow burn for you… As a photographer, was there anything in particular about the game and the culture that helped pull you?

SM: I wasn’t interested in football as a kid, I just used to draw and then later, skateboard with my pals Wanshoo and Big Phil. It’s hard to remove yourself completely from the game living in Glasgow and I’ve always kicked a ball about with friends, just for something to do. I suppose there is an addiction to the game that develops the more that you are exposed to it. It’s kind of just seeped into my life. As a photographer, I am drawn to passionate people. Whether they be actors, artists or football fans, I love people who are obsessed and like being surrounded by them.

It’s a cliche to say but it’s about passion. Passion isn’t just about love, it’s about pain too. Photography that has impact tends to be connected deeply to emotion. Ups, downs. highs and lows. it’s easier to capture the highs but projects that document the lows too give a depth to a project that has the possibility to really connect. 

These photographs are part of a longer term project on Celtic FC and Glasgow. The main images are from this year’s trophy day celebration in Glasgow’s Trongate area. Only one or two will make it through to the final project. The key is being absorbed in the moment, shooting as much as can be shot and selecting the images that form the story later. It’s a funny thing, in a way, it’s easy to shoot events like this because there is so much going on but but there is a lot of curating and censorship from external parties at the time of shooting that could make you want to throw the towel in. Instructions about what to take… “Here.. take my picture”, from fans, but also… “you shouldn’t be taking that picture!” Also from fans have their own idea of what the story should be. 

LB: Do you have any favourite frames from the day?

SM: I tend to like individual portraits but there are special moments that become layered if you get the timing just right. For example the man flipping the finger at the police helicopter miles above him or the little boy screaming framed by the other fan. Some of the special shots that will eventually be a key part in the project are the portraits because stories are attached to them. For example, the time when i went to Sweden to photograph Larsson and he said “No”. I was commissioned to get him on the cover but he didn’t want to be seen to be elevated above his teammates (he had returned to his original club Helsingborg IF for a spell). I think he saw the panic in my eyes and quietly said to me: “Be here (at the stadium) at 6am tomorrow”. I was there at 5am and he turned up by himself, before the other players arrived, and we did the shoot. I was so happy and incredibly relieved. 

LB: You’re working on the Celtic and Glasgow project, are there any other projects we should look out for?

SM: I’m shooting three projects right now, none directly connected to football. This project on Celtic will eventually develop into something that could be published but I need to allow it more time. Maybe I need to capture some of the lows but as a fan, but I don’t really want to invite those times in. Right now, I’m enjoying the celebrations. 

Keep up with Simon and his projects and give him a follow on Instagram.

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