Family, Film

The ‘Tommy Burns’ Times

Margot McCuaig

Today marks 15 years since former Celtic player and manager, Tommy Burns, died. He was just 51 years old. He was an incredible man who loved his family, his Catholic faith and Celtic intensely. He also had a deep affection for Kilmarnock too!

I knew Tommy as a work colleague and he was incredibly fun, supportive and caring in that role. As a father though, he was extraordinary. I made a film about Tommy Burns in 2019, with his four children at its heart. It was an incredibly emotional and beautiful experience, seeing and indeed feeling, how much his family love him.

Mark Palmer of The Times asked to me to contribute to an article about Tommy for today’s paper and I gladly participated. It’s a wonderful piece and it’s lovely to see Tommy Burns celebrated and remembered in print today. Here’s a link to the article and I’ve inserted an image below too.

To mark the anniversary, the Tommy Burns film (which won a Royal Television Society Scotland best programme award) will be repeated on BBC ALBA at 10pm tonight and will be available on the BBC iPlayer for 30 days, here.

Here’s a wee reminder of the film’s trailer. I hope you have a chance to watch tonight or at some point over the next 30 days and celebrate the legacy of a wonderful human being.

Published by Margot McCuaig

I’m a novelist and award-winning documentary filmmaker. My debut novel, 'The Birds That Never Flew', was shortlisted for the Dundee International Book Prize and longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize. 'Almost Then', my second novel, was published by Linen Press in April 2021. I write, produce and direct documentary films and won Royal Television Society Scotland awards in 2015 with 'Jock Stein' and for 'Jim Baxter' in 2016. 'Jimmy Johnstone' was nominated for a bronze Torc for Excellence in 2017. My feature length documentary film 'Tommy Burns won a Royal Television Society award in 2019 and 'The Women Who Built Glasgow City' won the same award in 2021. I made two children who are now making children too. That's the biggest achievement of all. I live in Glasgow, Scotland and Rathlin Island, Ireland. If you want to get in touch you can email me: margot@purpletv.tv. If you'd like me to attend a literature event then please have a look at my Scottish Book Trust profile.

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