THE hotel where Celtic stars were caught up in a sectarian sing- song is owned by a known IRA sympathiser, the Irish Sunday Mirror can reveal.
Hoops duo John Hartson and Stephen Pearson were filmed with fans who shouted out "IRA" and "Sinn Fein" at a booze-fuelled bash in Donegal.
The footage, shot on a mobile phone, was taken at the Clanree Hotel in Letterkenny, Donegal, which is owned by known IRA sympathiser Hughie McGee.
He also owns the Wolfe Tone bar in the town which boasts photos of hunger striker Bobby Sands on the wall and where the Colombia Three are due to make a guest appearance.
In 1997 McGee stood bail for IRA fugitive Anthony Kelly, who escaped from the Maze where he was serving life for murdering an off- duty RUC reservist. And in 1994 the hotel hosted a controversial conference for 800 members of Sinn Fein.
The tape of the raucous sing-song has been seen by thousands of football fans and is the talk of soccer forums and phone-ins.
It features worse-for-wear striker Hartson, 30, and midfielder Pearson, 23, linking arms on stage with three men during the singing of the The Fields of Athenry.
As the five belt out the anthem and stagger merrily in front of the audience, clear cries of "IRA" and "Sinn Fein" can be heard.
At one point Hartson turns to the man on his right and hugs him.
The players insist they did not join in the widely condemned chants, which made front-page news in Scotland and Ireland yesterday.
But the revelation that the hotel is run by a known IRA sympathiser has led to growing calls for a full inquiry by Celtic into the tape. Antibigotry campaigner and Lib Dem Scottish MP Donald Gorrie said: "I think these incidents damage the clubs involved.
"It's in Celtic's best interests that they're trying to tackle this problem.
"They've got to play a part in leading their supporters towards behaving in a more acceptable way."
The sing-song came after a testimonial dinner for former Celtic captain Jackie McNamara last April.
Mr Gorrie added: "Perhaps Celtic were naive and should have done a bit more research before getting involved. I don't know if heads have to roll, but they have to investigate to get the facts clarified. Then they have to talk to their players to get them to act as ambassadors towards co-operation across the sectarian divide."
Anti-sectarian charity Nil By Mouth renewed its demand that Celtic launch a probe into the revelations.
A spokesman said: "This gives further reason for Celtic to investigate this matter. Nil By Mouth has written to the club urging them to investigate this issue and to publicise their findings and any action they intend to take."
In 1994 Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams held a conference on the peace process at the four-star hotel, once known as the Holiday Inn.
He stood on the steps and rejected then Prime Minister John Major's plea for peace.
He was speaking after a special conference of 800 party activists which was aimed at paving the way for a ceasefire. Then in 1997 McGee put up sureties of pounds 20,000 to help bail maze prisoner Anthony Kelly.
Kelly, 44, was among 38 prisoners who escaped from the Maze in 1983 and was wanted for extradition to serve the remainder of a life sentence for the murder of reserve RUC officer Stanley Wray in Derry in 1979.
McGee - who was described by the court as a someone of "standing in the community" - was one of two men who stood surety for his bail.
McGee also owns the nearby Wolfe Tone bar where he's lined up three alleged IRA men The Columbia Three to make a special guest appearance.
The trio, Niall Connolly, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley, were arrested at Bogota airport in 2001 under suspicion of training Marxist rebels.
Each was sentenced to 17 years in a Colombia jail after an appeal court reversed their initial acquittal of the charge.
The men, who had been accused of being IRA members, jumped bail in December 2004 as they awaited a decision from the court of appeal. The trio returned to Ireland last year.
Monaghan, 60, is an alleged IRA weapons expert' McCauley, 42, has previous terrorist convictions' and 39-year-old Connolly was Sinn Fein's official envoy in Havana.
Last night, a spokesman for Celtic said: "We have no further comment to make while we carry out our own investigation."
On Friday the club said in a statement: "Both players freely admit they joined in singing of the Fields of Athenry, a well-known and popular Irish folk song at a supporters event in Ireland but absolutely did not join in any sectarian chanting."
It was from the same event that former on-loan Celtic striker Craig Bellamy sent abusive text messages to his former Newcastle team-mate, Alan Shearer.
Last night one Celtic fan said: "This is all very embarassing for the club. We have been doing really well in getting rid of the lunatic fringe of late, then all this blows up."
A Celtic insider added: "The dinner was organised by the testimonial committee, not the club. Celtic had nothing to do with the choice of venue."
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20060108/ai_n15993243
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