The loss of some ten key personnel to the newly formed Celtic Football Club may have been enough to kill Hibernian off were it not for the determination of Canon Hannon, Michael Whelahan, John and Phillip Farmer and John McFadden. These men were cut to the quick at the way John Glass had treated their Football Club but they would not allow their hurt to stand in their way as they tried to take the good and respected name of Hibernian forward.

Weakened but not defeated

The major problem would be to find replacement players from amongst the residents of Little Ireland as the source of Irish Catholic players in the West would soon now dry up with Celtic on the doorstep. To the eternal credit of Canon Hannon and his committee they kept their dispute with Celtic private and even continued to agree to a promise they had made to the effect that they would open the new season with a match against Celtic. Feelings were running high in Little Ireland that Hibernian should refuse to play this fixture but the Hibernian men would not contemplate withdrawing, for fear that it would cause friction in the Irish community in Scotland.

With only three players remaining from the previous season's fixtures, Hibernian managed to put together a team for the visit to Celtic Park and much to the embarrassment of John Glass the home support wildly cheered the Hibernian players both when they took the field and then opened the scoring. Celtic equalised through former Hibernian darling, Willie Groves and then the Hibs Captain James McGhee left the field with a nasty injury. The ten men took the lead but Celtic eventually ran out 3-2 winners with ex Hibs men Coleman and Groves the scorers.

Although football dominated the thoughts of many in Little Ireland there were some who resolved to pursue other sports and so the Hibernian Swimming Club came into being, based at Infirmary Street baths. The swimming club instantly decided that any funds it raised would go to the committee of the football club to help them through the trying times of trying to rebuild a team decimated by defection to Celtic.

Events off the park and related to politics in the 'Old Country' would further weaken Hibernian when a number of their committee were forced to resign and in order to replace them a meeting was held with the honorary members of the Club who pledged financial support and gave up three of their number to take a seat on the new committee. At this meeting some criticism was levelled at the old committee for so easily allowing Celtic to spirit players away but this was countered by a statement suggesting that the good men of the Celtic committee had not planned such moves; they too being taken in by John Glass and his associates.

Further bad news soon reached Little Ireland when it was revealed that Celtic, who had sailed into both the Glasgow and Scottish FA, the path having been smoothed years before by Hibernian, now had a reserve team admitted and this more or less cemented the fear that good players from the west, once a great source for Hibernian, would no longer be as readily available.

On the park the season started badly with defeats in the League and a Scottish Cup exit. It was hard to believe that this side were holders of the Cup because their decline had been so swift. New players of quality were nigh on impossible to find and soon a return match with Celtic would take place, this time at Hibernian Park but once again there were murmurings that perhaps Hibernian should refuse to fulfil the fixture. Those thoughts prompted the Hibernian committee to insist the game would go ahead as the hand of friendship would always be extended to our brothers from Glasgow. The Hibernian committee were truly men of honour.

When the game was played it was in a very hostile atmosphere that ex Hibernian players John Coleman and Mick Dunbar (2) scored the goals which saw a weak Hibernian side beaten. The Irishmen in the home support made their feelings very plain and given the circumstances who could blame them as they watched many of their former heroes take Hibernian apart.

Blow after blow

As if things on the park were not bad enough a further blow was dealt when long time Club stalwart John McFadden resigned his post of team secretary to take up a position made vacant by the resignations arising out of the political goings on at that time. Prior to leaving he negotiated an extension to the lease on Hibernian Park but he knew the writing was on the wall and urged his replacement to actively seek another site upon which the Club could continue to play its matches.

In January 1889 the CYMS held its AGM and it was reported that although the Hibernians had suffered many recent blows they were fighting back thanks in particular to the efforts of Michael Whelahan, Club Captain James McGhee and ex Secretary John McFadden. The existence of an ongoing pro-Hibernians faction on the Celtic Football Club Committee was also to help with the greens invited to Glasgow for a match from which all gate money received would go to the Edinburgh men. The game finished 5-4 to Celtic but a sizeable crowd meant that the gate receipts were of a helpful size to Hibernian who found themselves, for the first time ever, the recipients of a charitable donation rather than the providers.

It was around this time that Little Ireland was rife with rumours of Hibernian being encouraged to relocate to Glasgow and in time it proved those rumours were true but thankfully the men in charge of the Club flatly refused to even consider such a proposal. Still the rumours persisted as it was known the pro-Hibernians faction on the Celtic Committee were growing more and more disenchanted with John Glass and his apparent refusal to follow the Hibernians model of doing charitable deeds via Celtic and preferring instead to run them as a money generating operation. Finally a meeting was called in St. Mary's Hall and to rousing cheers the assembled membership were assured by Michael Whelahan that Hibernians were the Edinburgh Irish team and would not be moving to Glasgow or anywhere else.

Although the team which had suffered such massive blows by the defection to Celtic of the bulk of its members had struggled it looked forward to season 1889/90 with some hope as replacements had been found and it was thought Hibernians could once again challenge the best. Things started well enough with good Scottish Cup wins including an 11-1 trouncing of Dunfermline at Hibernian Park and soon thereafter there was another game against Celtic which had to be played in Glasgow because Celtic were not willing to come to Edinburgh even though the proceeds were destined for various worthy charitable causes. This time it was Hibernians who lost heavily as with ten former Hibernian Park players in their line up, Celtic won 7-1.

Prominent in the team of that day was one Sandy McMahon, dubbed 'The Prince of Dribblers' and a player who turned down a move to Stoke City because he wanted to stay and help his beloved Hibernians be great again. But Sandy was one of only a few players in the team who could produce football of the standard Hibernians had achieved prior to the Celtic fiasco and so when the greens travelled to Glasgow for games their support amongst the Irish in that area began to dwindle as they lost many games whilst Celtic were beating all and sundry. Slowly but surely it seemed that the Glasgow Irish were losing faith in the once great Hibernians and turning their attentions to Celtic where they could watch many of the stars they once cheered.

With the Cup run over and fewer and fewer games being played in Edinburgh, Hibernians were finding it difficult to attract quality players and when Club Secretary Richard Payne inexplicably decided against attending a meeting in Glasgow to discuss the future of the game the greens were not included in the newly formed Scottish League whilst their City neighbours Hearts and St. Bernard's were.