Dubliner Declan Roche has publicly revealed decades of sexual abuse he endured at the Celtic Boys Club in Glasgow, detailing assaults by manager Frank Cairney in the 1980s. The silence ended as he joined 24 survivors in settlements against Celtic FC, with legal actions highlighting systemic abuse in Scottish football.
Declan Roche’s decision to break his silence has shed light on the pervasive abuse at the Celtic Boys Club, a feeder organization for Celtic Football Club. In 1986, at 15, Roche moved to Glasgow to pursue a football career, only to be sexually assaulted by Frank Cairney, then a club manager, shortly after arriving. I do believe it was probably the biggest mistake or decision I have made over my life,
Roche told RTE, describing the trauma that shaped his adult life.
The Abuse and Its Aftermath
Legal and Institutional Responses
In 2025, Celtic FC settled claims from 24 survivors through group proceedings in Scotland, a legal strategy that allowed lawyers to access decades of club records. Patrick McGuire, a partner at Thompsons Solicitors, emphasized the worst instance of abuse at any sports institution in the UK,
noting that the Boys Club’s ties to Celtic Football Club were a very strong boys club
that enabled power dynamics to persist. We represented victims who were abused from the ’70s all the way through to the ’90s,
McGuire said, highlighting the scope of the abuse.
Celtic FC has long maintained that the Boys Club was a separate organisation, but the 2022 court ruling permitting group proceedings forced the club to confront its legacy. Roche’s testimony adds to a broader pattern: an independent 2021 review of Scottish football abuse and a Police Scotland investigation identifying over 150 victims. It was an honour in many ways,
Roche said of the Boys Club, and he [Cairney] would have used that power well.
The Broader Pattern of Abuse
The abuse at Celtic Boys Club formed part of a wider pattern of abuse across Scottish football, with survivors alleging decades of unchecked misconduct. Roche’s case mirrors others where victims faced pressure to remain silent to pursue careers, a dynamic he described as I just didn’t want to tell anybody. I didn’t want to tell my family at the time because I was still wanting to be a football player.
The 2021 review and ongoing legal battles underscore the institutional failures that allowed such abuse to persist.
Roche’s public disclosure comes as survivors continue to seek justice, with legal experts emphasizing the importance of group proceedings in uncovering historical wrongs. The abuse at Celtic Boys Club is the worst instance of abuse at any sports institution in the UK,
McGuire reiterated, calling for continued scrutiny of football’s past. For Roche, the decision to speak out was both a personal reckoning and a step toward accountability.