Celtic's Part Of My Skin

Stephen Todd’s impressive ink is a testament to the Hoops and his late brother George

- Joe Donnelly

STEPHEN Todd loves Celtic so much he endured 24 hours of pain in honour of his boyhood heroes.

“I love it,” said Todd of the masterful artwork that’s now permanently etched on to his arm. “I look at it every single day. Some people get tattoos and regret them, but this one is something that means a lot to me and I’m proud of it. I’ll never regret getting it.”

Born into a Celtic family in 1972, Todd first visited Paradise in the early ‘80s with his Dad, and spent much of that decade travelling the country on the Govan Emerald supporters’ bus, upon which his father and uncles regaled him with countless tales about Wee Jinky, Cesar, Bertie and the rest of the Lisbon Lions.

Fast forward 40 years, and Todd feels as strongly about those players as he did back then, while he considers Henrik Larsson one of the best players he’s had the honour and privilege of watching in the flesh.

That’s reflected in the composition of his ink, as is the Big Cup, Estadio Nacional, the Paradise faithful and lyrics from two of Celtic’s most iconic songs.

“My brother and I always talked for years about getting Celtic tattoos, as he liked his tattoos as well,” said Todd. “It was the 50th anniversary of the Lions in 2017, and I started off with the cup, thinking that was the only thing I was going to get, and then, as anyone with tattoos will tell you, you get the bug for it.