John Byrne is living the dream in Paradise

If there is one message, or moral, that can be extracted from John Byrne's young life so far it is that you should follow your dreams. Always. Seek to do what you really want to do. Don't settle for less. Throw your hat in the air, if you have a hat, and see where it lands.

John, who is now 27, did just that, or something similar, and that sense of adventure has brought him - via stop offs in all sorts of places including Mullagh, Navan, Finglas, Brussels - to his current destination, Glasgow.

Not that just saying, or writing, Glasgow adequately covers it. His workplace is in one of the most famous landmarks in the city, if not in all of Scotland. If not in the world of football.

Every morning he travels from his home in Dennison in the city and makes his way to Paradise no less, also known as Celtic Park or Parkhead. The names might be different but the location is the same. His workplace is the home of Celtic Football Club.

And it's not ‘Glasgow Celtic' as many people refer to it. There is - as the former chairman of Celtic FC Fergus McCann told this writer in forceful terms at a friendly match in Tolka Park between Celtic and a Brazilian club side Flamengo back in the summer of 1994 - "nay such club as Glasgow Celtic." He said it referring to some pre-game publicity which indicated the game was indeed between ‘Glasgow Celtic’ and Flamengo.

Mr McCann was a no nonsense merchant and wasn't afraid to have his say. The right name, the chairman forcefully added, is Celtic Football & Athletic Club. "It's not, or never was, Glasgow Celtic," he added just to make sure the message was conveyed to me even though I had nothing whatsoever to do with the said pre-match publicity.

He was, it seemed, mightily irritated that there was a small enough crowd at the game when he was assured by someone that the place would be jammed. There was a real sense Mr McCann felt he had been somewhat misled.

GLASGOW GIANTS

Whatever name people use, the essential reality is that the Glasgow giants are among the most famous, best supported clubs in the world with a very strong link to Ireland - and it's where John Byrne has found employment.

To get to the stage where he is now making his living with Celtic Football and Athletic FC, Byrne displayed the same kind of enterprise and imagination that might be associated with some of the club's great legends of past such as Wee Jimmy 'Jinky' Johnstone, Kenny Dalglish, Henrik Larsson or Paul McStay to name just a few.

You could include the said Mr McCann also in any list of Celtic legends as he played a huge part in revitalising the ailing club when he was chairman in the 1990s investing vast sums of his own money to stave off bankruptcy and rebuild Paradise. Just like the Kevin Costner character in 'The Field of Dreams' he went with the "build it and they will come" approach - and how right he was.

No doubt pictures of the many Celtic legends beam down on John Byrne from the walls as he walks along the corridors of the great stadium going about his job in the club's PR department.

"My role is that of PR Assistant. There are four people in the PR department including one administrator leaving three people working hands on. The beauty of Celtic is that you get hands-on access. My boss, Iain Jamieson from day one let me run with it, get on with my job, and that was great."

That means, in reality, he could be mixing with members of the first team in their training base at Lennoxtown and writing a press release concerning the latest pronouncement of stars such a Callum McGregor or Brendan Rodgers. Early in the job Byrne was somewhat amazed to find himself doing an interview with Celtic and Scotland defender Anthony Ralston.

"Not long before that I was back in Ireland on the dole then in the blink of an eye I'm doing interviews with Celtic players and that was something it took me a while to get my head around because it all happened so fast. It's been crazy but really enjoyable."

How John Byrne, a young football man to the core, got to a situation where he is working with one of the most famous football clubs with a huge, global fanbase is a story of someone who wasn't afraid of chasing his dream.

John Byrne has spent much of his life so far living in Mullagh or nearby Navan. He attended St Anne's Primary School and St Pat's CS in the Meath town. "I say I'm from Navan because I went to school in Navan, that's where my friends are from and that's where I go back to mostly," he explains. The Co Meath town is also where John's mother Sandra lives.

He also spent time with his grandmother Alice in Finglas especially when he was studying Communications in nearby Dublin City University. It was there he got his degree and did his masters in social media.

He briefly worked with the PRII (Public Relations Institute of Ireland) before landing a job in Brussels. It all sounds grand and nice but his work involved him promoting the efficiency of home appliance items and it left him cold and unfulfilled.

Football had always been an integral part of his life and that's where he wanted to utilise his skills. He left his job in the Belgium capital and returned home to Ireland for a timewhile he also did some travelling. His aim was to reset. "I just wanted to work in football," he says to emphasise his point. Celtic offered him the chance.

A FOOTBALL WAY OF LIFE

From a very young age Byrne was a football fan. His father, John senior was a big soccer man. Still is. He's a keen follower of both Celtic and Dublin club Bohemians. Young John came to share the same affection, no passion, for both identities.

John recalls watching on TV with his Dad, a star-filled Celtic side, then managed by Martin O'Neill, perform in Europe back in the early years of the millennium. The magical, memorable day arrived when young John was brought to Celtic Park by his father to see the Hoops up close.

"It was around 2004 and we lost 2-0 to Hearts, I felt like crying. My Dad would have taken me across usually once a year on the boat as part of Adrian Hillman's Celtic Supporters Club in Duleek. We still have that photo of that day at the Celtic game with my Dad and my sister Tara. It's great to look back on it now."

Later John junior carried out some PR work, on a voluntary basis, for Bohemians FC to get experience and just help out. After all he bleeds black and red.

Then one day early last year he saw online an advertisement for a job in the PR Department at Celtic Park. He applied, not expecting to even get a reply, which had happened to him before with other potential employers. However this time he did get a response.

Not only that he was asked if he would be interested to talking to the club. He did an interview online and felt he did well. Still he didn't let himself get carried away.

"I honestly thought at first I wouldn't hear back, I just sent my application anyway. A few weeks passed and I even forgot I had applied for the job because I had no expectations of hearing back from them but I did get a response. I did an interview with my now boss Iain (Jamieson) online that went well, I felt. Then they asked me to go over.

"It was a massive thing for me, going to Celtic Park, going into the place once more. I knew going over there I had a chance. For me the whole day, the experience was a really big deal."

These days Byrne is closely involved with providing PR for the Celtic women's team. He travels at home and away with the Hoops who are now a force in Europe, taking on some of the top sides on the continent.

"I get to work closely with the team manager Elena Sadiku, a brilliant person and coach. It's really interesting how she sees football, and has top class players. It's brilliant to be around all these people working with them."

It was a long shot when John Byrne applied for a job in Paradise early last year. A long shot that he would even get an interview. Yet he went for it anyway. He threw his hat in the air and it paid dividends. Big time.

There's a valuable lesson there for all of us.