TG4 doc to profile George Best's Cork Celtic spell  

Clipping from the Evening Echo in 1975

Rare archive footage of George Best in action for Cork Celtic will feature in a  St Stephen’s Day TG4 documentary.

Broadcast to mark 50 years since one of the world's best footballers briefly lined out for the Cork side, George Best i gCorcaigh explores how a stunning move came about.

At the time, Cork Celtic were in financial difficulty with attendances dwindling and it was manager Bobby Tambling, who had played against Best in his Chelsea days, who helped pulled off the coup.

Best, then a global icon, had left Manchester United the year before when only 28. Having made an English League comeback with Stockport, he entered a phase of his career when his stardust was available to the next bidder. 

Enter Celtic, and a fascinating if brief slice of League of Ireland history.

The TG4 documentary, shot in Cork by Dearg Films, features interviews with  many of Best's Cork Celtic teammates, including Alfie McCarthy, Bryan McSweeney, Jerry Myers and John “Blondie” Carroll. Cork GAA legend Jimmy Barry Murphy, also a former Cork Celtic player, contributes. 

Best played three matches in his Celtic stint, a chapter that swiftly petered out. His debut — a 2-0 defeat by Drogheda United, where he failed to impress — drew 12,000 thrpough the turnstiles at Flower Lodge.  The Evening Echo report of the game noted that Celtic players seems "over anxious to bring Best into the game". 

George Best i gCorcaigh will screen on St. Stephen’s Day at 8.15pm on TG4 and on the TG4 player.