THE daughter of Celtic legend Johnny Doyle has spoken of her heartache as rare memorabilia belonging to her dad is auctioned off.

 

Joanna, 36, said she was "gutted" when she found out her dad's Scotland Cap, a Celtic shirt and medals are being sold by auctioneers McTears.

The winger and one-time Scotland cap died aged 30 when he was electrocuted in his trophy room while carrying out DIY in his Kilmarnock home in Ayrshire in 1981.

After a tragic family rift, his children went to live with their gran and were left with nothing to remember their dad's glory days as a star footballer.

Last April, kind-hearted Celtic fans raised enough money to buy a club shirt at a previous McTear's auction and return it to them leaving them "deeply touched" by the gesture.

Now Joanna faces yet another ordeal seeing her dad's treasured memories being sold off in a sports auction on the McTear's website until January 29.

Johnny's Scotland Cap is expected to fetch between £7,000 and £10,000, with his Scotland jersey valued up to £2000 and a Celtic shirt worn in the 4-2 win over Rangers in May 1979 likely to be sold for up to £4000, along with medals valued between £2500 and £3500.

Joanna, from Kilmarnock, said: "I was gutted when I found out that a lot of my dad's things are being auctioned off.

"I contacted McTear's the last time and emailed them to tell them I didn't have anything of my dad due to a family fall-out and nothing of my dad's was kept or passed on to us.

"They said it was a private auction and there was nothing they could do so I thought I would be wasting my time contacting them again.

"When I heard about this auction and saw his Scotland Cap which was the only one he got and other stuff belonging to my dad were being sold off I was hurt and in tears.

"There is no way I could afford to buy any of it and I hope that whoever gets his stuff will treasure it which I am sure they will if they are willing to pay that kind of money for it.

"My dad died in his trophy room when I was only three. I have no idea what happened to all his stuff after a family rift and we went to live with my gran.

"It has been a very sad family life since my dad passed away and now we are having to see my dad's stuff up for auction."

Joanna said she can't thank the Celtic fans enough for their generosity and kindness after raising money to buy her dad's shirt for her at an auction last year.

She said: "At the end of the day if his things are going to a fan I'm happy enough with that.

"It is heartbreaking but I don't want the fans to think that we have handed these things over because we had nothing until the fans bought us that shirt last year.

"I don't want anyone to think that I'm speaking to the Evening Times because I want someone to buy my dad's stuff for me again, I want them to know that as much as it is heartbreaking, that what those boys did for me was amazing when they bought us that shirt.

"They have given me the best gift in the world and that's enough for me."

McTears managing director Brian Clements said, "Although Johnny Doyle was a hugely gifted player and made 118 appearances for Celtic, he only played once for Scotland, picking up his cap for a game against Romania in 1975.

"This fact alone makes both the Scotland Cap and jersey extremely rare pieces of sporting memorabilia."