Superstar Rod Stewart paid a warm tribute to the late footballer Liam Miller, at his concert in Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork last night, posting a picture of the former Republic of Ireland, Manchester United and Celtic player on the big screen of his stage.
Stewart's gesture was appreciated by the thousands of fans who attended the Leeside gig. Stewart, a lifelong Celtic fan, said he had planned to say so many things to the Irish crowd but had forgotten them all after his team saw off the challenge of Hearts by a margin of 2-1 at the Scottish Cup Final.
Stewart travelled to the Royal Yacht Club in Crosshaven for lunch before watching the match. Celtic has now won nine domestic trophies in a row, an unprecedented treble treble, and a 39th Scottish Cup triumph.
Páirc Uí Chaoimh created history last year when it hosted a tribute match for Liam Miller who died of oesophageal cancer in February 2018.
In an interview with the Irish Examiner earlier this year Rod Stewart said that "more teams should do (what Ireland and Manchester United did for Liam Miller) it. That’s the positive side of the game.”
At the concert, he posted pictures of various Celtic heroes with an image of Liam Miller receiving huge applause as Stewart said: "What about this guy?"
Miller began his career with Celtic and was later loaned to Aarhus in 2001. He returned to Celtic Park and broke into the first-team squad during the 2003–04 season.
At his funeral mass in Ovens, Co Cork former Celtic Player and Scotland international Willie McStay said that when Liam made his debut for the club he was composed, calm and assured from the start.
He regaled mourners with stories of Liam's legendary lack of attention to timekeeping. On one particular occasion, the young Liam Miller realised he was late for training.
However, he stopped apply wax on his hair because he figured he might as well look good whilst getting in trouble with management. He added that the Miller family would "never walk alone."
A Liam Miller tribute match which took place last September raised €1.5m which was donated to the family and to various charities.
In a statement, the widow of the deceased Clare Miller said she felt "truly blessed and grateful."
The match involved a pairing between Manchester United Legends and past player form Celtic and Ireland.
The Manchester United legend team included manager Roy Keane and former players Ryan Giggs, Denis Irwin, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt.
The Celtic/Ireland legends line up featured amongst others Robbie Keane, Damien Duff, Neil Lennon, Kevin Kilbane and Richard Dunne. The event was a sell out with 45,000 tickets purchased for the big day.
