Celtic are a unique club, holding a special place in the hearts of both Scottish and Irish fans. They’re a symbol of national pride while also simply being one of the most successful clubs to come out of British football.

55 league titles and, importantly, one European Cup certainly lay the foundation for an enormous fanbase. That fanbase includes many famous names, almost always with either Scottish or Irish backgrounds.

We at Football Fancast thought we’d pick through 10 of the biggest names – but this is far from an exhaustive list. Celtic, after all, are massive.

10 Jay Baruchel

Let’s start with an unusual one. Canadian actor Jay Baruchel has been a Celtic fan for some time now – and not in that way of simply wearing a shirt once or claiming to be a big fan while promoting a film.

Baruchel has Irish ancestry, something he’s evidently very proud of. It eventually led him to supporting Celtic in the early 2000s and he even produced a documentary on the club called ‘Celtic soul’.

“What’s not to love? For me it’s a few things,” he told the Glasgow Times. “I watched Henrik Larsson on TV and it’s had not to fall in love with him and that team.

“I was a big fan of Aiden McGeady and I followed him for years. I have a real sense of my heritage – my mum’s family are predominantly Irish and Catholic. I have a deep connection to those communities”.

9 Finn Bálor

Not too much to go on here but it does add up. WWE star Finn Bálor (no, not his real name) is an Irish wrestler who was pictured at a pub in Glasgow wearing a Celtic shirt back in 2019.

Bálor now works on a TV show watched by millions every week, but did work in Scotland before he made it big. An Irishman in Scotland, it does add up that he’d have some love for Celtic.

8 Frankie Boyle

Frankie Boyle is very openly a Celtic fan, having frequently talked about the team on Twitter – be it celebrating success or bemoaning the failures.

“On the train listening to the game on the radio,” he said during an Old Firm game in 2022. “Rangers scored when I was listening. Put if aff. Celtic scored. Now can’t put it back on in case I’m a jinx”.

Boyle comes from Glasgow, of course, and still lives there.

7 Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor is about as polarising as it gets in the world of sport. The former dual UFC champion basks in his Irish roots, though, and it shouldn’t really surprise anyone that he has affection for Celtic as a result.

He raved about the fans in 2017, while also paying tribute to John Hartson just last year when the former Celtic striker turned up at his pub. And as the Daily Record points out, McGregor has quite frequently talked up the club over the years.

6 Gerard Butler

Hollywood actor Gerard Butler has been in his fair share of blockbusters but he said back in 2011 that the real highlight of his career was playing in a charity legends game for Celtic.

He grew up a fan and was able to be a part of the squad to face a Manchester United legends side.

“I’ve had some amazing things happen to me – but that was the best,” Butler told the Daily Record at the time.

“I had the biggest, silliest smile. It made all that hard work worth it to be standing there and then kicking off with Henrik Larsson”.

Butler has been to Parkhead on occasion since, though he’s also admitted that living in America makes it very difficult to follow the club as much as he wants.

5 Kevin Bridges

Kevin Bridges has talked in the past about not wanting to include football in his stand-up shows so as to not alienate anyone. He is, however, very openly a Celtic fan and has celebrated their success on his social media channels.

Most interestingly, though, a photo recently emerged of a young Celtic fan at a game back in 2004, holding up a scarf that insulted Rangers. That fan is quite unmistakably a young Kevin Bridges. He certainly didn’t worry about alienating people in the past, then.

4 James McAvoy

McAvoy is another from Glasgow who, like Butler, has represented Celtic in a charity legends game. The actor is clearly a massive fan and has even given content to the club’s social channels, be it quiz questions or an interview.

McAvoy has also told a story about shouting praise at Neil Lennon across the street while the former midfielder was Celtic boss.

“Neil was walking down the street with his family," he said, per the Scotsman. “Just before I opened my mouth I thought, he doesn’t want to be bothered, so I shouted ‘Neil! Love what you’re doing mate’ and then got back in the car and drove away. “I thought he must get it all the time and I didn’t want to bother him".

3 Lewis Capaldi

Lewis Capaldi, yet another massive name from Glasgow, is again openly a Celtic fan – even if he’s previously tried not to highlight that fact at gigs.

But he’s also been seen wearing a Celtic shirt fairly regularly, while he also very recently talked about the club on Hot Ones. Capaldi discussed his favourite Celtic song.

“There is a really beautiful song called Grace,” he said.

“It’s an old Irish song but Celtic fans sing it because of the connection with Ireland. It’s a beautiful tune.”

2 Billy Connolly

It was only fairly recently that Billy Connolly stopped frequenting Celtic games, but the legendary comedian has been watching the club since the 1950s.

Connolly actually gave a pretty hefty interview on Celtic and Scottish football in general back in 2020 for the Daily Mail that is worth a read. Above all, he highlights how much it means to be a patron of the Celtic foundation.

“There is more to the club than just the team,” said Connolly. “The Celtic FC Foundation is the charity wing of the club and I am fortunate to be Patron of the Foundation.

“There is more to the club than just the players. There are a host of great people who work there behind the scenes. Ultimately, the work they do reflects on the overall image of the club. I consider myself lucky to be a tiny part of that. Their work in the wider community is to be admired, especially at Christmas when they help many needy families, and especially in the East End of Glasgow.”

1 Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart is known by everyone to be a Celtic fan but he’s not actually from Glasgow. Or Scotland. His Dad was – but he wasn’t from Glasgow, nor was he a Celtic fan.

So how, exactly, did Stewart end up as one? He explained it in an interview with talkSport a few years ago about how he didn’t actually make the decision to support the club until he was 28.

“I met Jock Stein in 1973, Kenny Dalglish, Jimmy Johnstone and Harry Hood, all knocked on my door. We just did a show with The Faces in Glasgow, and they all came to wake me and Ronnie [Wood] up to get us to go training. Ronnie didn’t get out of bed, but I went and I met Jock Stein.

“He looked at me and he laughed at my shoes. And since that day, I’ve become a Celtic supporter.

"I was so enamoured by him, you know, this huge guy was just brilliant.”

50 years later, he’s dished out the Scottish League Cup to Celtic in 2015 and is famously a fan. It’s one of the more unique ways to find your support, of course, and certainly stands out on this list.