Celtic player praises his Catholic education

A Celtic FC footballer has praised his education in a Catholic school and said Communion was a proud moment for him and his family.

Left-back Kiernan Tierney, who also plays for Scotland’s national team, spoke in a video created to celebrate 100 years of Catholic state education in Scotland.

“It’s a great occasion for you and your family, it’s a proud moment. A few months before Communion you’re going to Mass every day, you’re learning the hymns that you’re going to sing, you’re learning where you’re going to stand and what you’re going to do. It’s a great day,” Mr Tierney said.

The video was produced by Sancta Familia Media and aims to highlight the centenary of the 1918 Education Act in Scotland, which saw Catholic schools transferred from diocesan control to state governance.

Mr Tierney said they were taught “just to treat others the way you want to be treated, that’s the thing all the teachers and your family always would tell you”.

He mentioned the primary school he went to, St Brendan’s Primary School in Motherwell, saying it was “a great time for me”. Mr Tierney’s family went to the school as well.

Speaking in the same video Bishop Joseph Toal of Motherwell said: “Part of our understanding of education is that it also involves Faith, and passing on the Catholic Faith. So it’s not just the secular subjects which are taught in Catholic schools, but there’s also the Faith element which is meant to permeate the whole curriculum in a school.”