Thus Britain, France, Ireland and Spain have jointly made a claim in the Celtic sea and the Bay of Biscay.

ECONOMIST: The scramble for the seabed

Currently 1% of young Scots are learning the Celtic language of their country, compared to 7% in Ireland and 21% in Wales.

BBC: Glasgow & West Scotland

That means he is free to play at Connacht in the Celtic League on 18 February and push for a Wales place against Ireland the following week.

BBC: Jones will be available for the Scarlets' game in Connacht

In Berwick-upon-Tweed, the ceremony started with a blast on a 12ft-high Celtic war horn, while churches in the Isle Of Man and Northern Ireland all took part.

BBC: Mass bell-ringing heralds Olympics opening

Whatever the reason for the baiting of Lennon - and it certainly seems more anti-Celtic than anti-Catholic in character - the end result is disaffection with the Northern Ireland team among the Catholic community.

BBC: Bigots score another own goal

After all, it is only the mass commercialisation of Halloween that is both new and American: it is more than a millennium since the Catholic church, attempting to convert the pagan Celts in Britain and Ireland, created All Saints or All Hallows Day to coincide with the Celtic festival honouring the dead.

ECONOMIST: Mexico, haunted by new ghosts

The boom that earned Ireland the nickname of "Celtic Tiger" faltered when the country fell into recession in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008.

BBC: Ireland profile

But the Republic of Ireland international does not subscribe to the theory that the extra demands made on Rangers in Europe will give Celtic the edge in the domestic title race.

BBC: Daryl Murphy and Anthony Stokes eye Celtic partnership