Belfast Celtic Football Club was a football club. Founded in 1891 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it was one of the most successful teams in Ireland until it withdrew permanently from the Irish League in 1949. The club left the league for political reasons, as the team and its supporters were largely Catholic and Irish nationalist and its players had been violently attacked by a mob against its main rival Linfield in December 1948. Belfast Celtic was one of four clubs that attracted the biggest crowds in the Irish League, the other three being Linfield, Distillery and Glentoran. Belfast Celtic played its last match in 1960. History Early years The club, formed in 1891 simply as Celtic, was named after Celtic Football Club of Glasgow. Upon incorporation as a limited company in 1901, however, was known colloquially as the Belfast Celts, the title "The Celtic Football & Athletic Company Ltd" already being officially registered by the Glasgow club. Their home from the same year was Celtic Park on Donegall Road in west Belfast, known to the fans as "Paradise". Celtic won their first league title in 1900 after beating fierce rivals Linfield by a single goal. The severe political violence that began to engulf Ireland in the 1920s spilled onto the pitches and terraces of the Irish League. In 1920, the Irish Football Association fined and suspended the club following violent incidents at the Irish Cup semi-final. Celtic was forced to abandon their participation in the 1920–21 season, and did not rejoin the league until 1924–25 season. Celtic's support base was strongly Irish nationalist and Catholic but the club also enjoyed significant support from some local west Belfast Unionists and Protestants, who accounted for about 10 percent of the fan base. Despite the background of political turmoil, the club went from strength to strength and the inter-war period proved to be Celtic's strongest: they were league champions four years running after their return to the league. The club also produced some of the greatest players of their generation, and at one stage had five international goalkeepers in their squad. 1948–49: Withdrawal from the Irish League and North American tour The catalyst for the end of the club came on 26 December 1948, at the traditional Boxing Day league game between Linfield and Celtic at Windsor Park. Celtic were winning for most of the match but Linfield equalised in the final minute.