A SPECIAL tribute for Celtic FC's first captain James Kelly will take place at a cemetery in Lanarkshire on Sunday.

Celtic Graves Society will host a ceremony to commemorate the final resting place of the footballer.

The ceremony will be held at St Patrick's Ceremony in New Stevenston at 2pm with attendees including Lisbon Lion legend and Celtic Graves Society patron Jim Craig.

A blessing of the grave will be conducted by Father White of St Mary of the Assumption in the Calton.

The footballer was born in 1865 into an Irish family in the Dunbartonshire town of Renton.

He made is name playing for Renton where he won Scottish Cup medals in 1885 and 1888.

He became a Celtic player in 1888 which was a massive coup for the Bhoys as Kelly was regarded as one of the best known and highly regarded players of that era.

A spokesman for Celtic Graves Society said: "The importance of his capture cannot be understated. It was probably the most significant move that the first Celtic Committee made. He was a star signing that the club could not miss out on.

"The presence of James Kelly in the Celtic ranks was a catalyst in attracting other top players who would only be too happy to sign up to play in Glasgow's East End alongside him."

Kelly scored in his first game for the Parkhead side as Celtic defeated Old Firm rivals Rangers 5-2.

When he retired from playing in 1897 at the age of 32, he had made 139 League and Scottish Cup appearances for Celtic, scoring 11 goals.

He also won eight international caps for Scotland and captained his country.

His greatest achievement was winning the Scottish Cup as captain in 1892 which was the first time the club had won the tournament.

He was also a director and chairman at the club until his death in 1932.

For more information, visit www.celticgraves.com