The rivalry between fans of Celtic and Rangers football clubs is giving students a chance to stamp out bigotry, reports Gráinne Faller.

Remember the chuckle lots of people had at the expense of one of the protesters on the day the Ireland rugby team played England at Croke Park? The photograph was splashed over the newspapers. It did the rounds on e-mail and mobile phones, and we all giggled at the irony. "No to foreign games," screamed the placard, which was held by a man wearing a Celtic football shirt.

The strange thing is that the man probably looked in the mirror that day without twigging the foreignness of the jersey he was wearing. In Irish eyes, at least, Glasgow Celtic has always been different from other soccer clubs. Founded in 1888 by Catholic immigrants who had begun leaving Ireland for Scotland during the Famine, Celtic has always had a strong Irish following. The age-old rivalry with the city's traditionally Protestant Rangers Football Club has brought unwelcome attention to the clubs, which are at pains to stress that most of their fans are not sectarian and just want to enjoy the soccer. Indeed, any tensions nowadays seem to be less about religion and football than about gang rivalries in Glasgow.

John Gorman, senior year head at Rosses Community School in Dungloe, Co Donegal, knew that the two clubs are going to great lengths to foster links between their fans and educate people about bigotry, and he spotted an opportunity. Donegal County Council had approached him about studying Divided City, a book by Theresa Breslin, with his tradition-year students. Set in Glasgow, it is based on the friendship between three teenagers: a Catholic Celtic supporter, a Protestant Rangers supporter and an asylum-seeker. It has been used with some success in cross-Border projects.

Gorman decided he would like to use it to raise awareness about bigotry and prejudice in general. Well aware that issues such as these are not always the most engaging for teenagers, he contacted Celtic and Rangers about getting involved and to see if they could help Rosses Community School team up with a college in Scotland. "There are huge links between Glasgow and the northwest," he says. "We have a massive Celtic supporters club here, and lots of the students would be big Celtic or Rangers fans."

The clubs were enthusiastic, and they set up a pairing with Lochend Community High School, in Glasgow. The idea was that the students would study the book and swap ideas about it by post or e-mail. The Irish group would then have a chance to travel to Glasgow and meet their counterparts before touring the clubs and going to a game.

"The students were really, really engaged with the project," says Gorman. "I think the incentive of the trip at the end was a huge factor in that."

As Divided City tells a story about sectarianism and prejudice in Glasgow, it was a perfect platform to look at the same issues in Donegal. "It was a good opportunity to explore bigotry," says John Joe Gallagher, a transition-year student. "There's a huge irony in the way that people can be united by football but that they can also be divided by football."

The students studied the book, then completed exercises and gave presentations about it. They wrote profiles of themselves and what they thought of the book and sent them to the class in Glasgow. The Scottish students did the same and answered any questions the Co Donegal students had about Divided City's portrayal of Glasgow.

"The Scottish students said that Glasgow wasn't as violent as it is in the book. The problems are just in parts of the city," says Róisín Connolly, another transition-year student.

Before their trip to Glasgow, the Rosses students decided it would be a good idea to paint murals that would educate people about sectarianism and bigotry in general. "That was a great idea that came from the students themselves," says Gorman. "It allowed them to be a bit creative while still thinking about the issues."

The 26 students who went to Glasgow were chosen at random from those who were deemed to have worked hard on the project during the year.

Sinéad Sweeney was one of the lucky ones. "We left home at 3am and flew to Glasgow. Then we went straight to the Rangers study centre and waited for the other school to arrive."

The students were happy to see that the centre was well equipped with computer games and other things to keep them occupied until the Lochend students got there.

"It was really nice to see the faces behind the letters," says Róisín. "We were all really tired, though," says Gemma Doherty. "We had been up for ages by that stage."

This was the time for real debate, as the Irish and Scottish students discussed bigotry and quizzed each other about their own situations. Gemma says: "We were all expecting the students to be Rangers fans, but it turned out there was a pretty even mix."

"They showed us that the majority aren't violent," says Jamie Cunningham. "They have no problems with fighting in school or anything like that. The whole problem has become very stereotyped. For the people involved in the violence, it's not about football. It's not even about religion. For a lot of them it just gives them something to fight about."

The clubs showed the students around both training grounds and stadiums - Celtic Park and Ibrox - and the students went to a Celtic game that weekend, when the team were playing Dunfermline. "That was amazing," says Cory Gallagher. "We went to the directors' box, and we got to see Rod Stewart's seat. We also got our pictures taken with the mascot."

Injured player Mark Wilson was in the box, and he chatted to some of the students. "He was nice," says Cory. "Very sound." Sinéad says: "Celtic won 2-1, so we were happy about that."

The students did notice a difference in how the games were managed, however. "There were a lot of police," says Sinéad. "I counted 50 just from where I was." Róisín says: "I was really shocked at how the fans were separated. There were three or four rows of policemen separating the fans from each other. It really annoyed me to hear some of the fans booing one another. It ruins it for everybody else."

Back at school, the students are reflective about the project. John Joe says: "I think this kind of project is very helpful. I actually think that there are a lot of people who are bigoted without even realising it - even if they're just booing Rangers when they come out on a playing pitch. It's just a game. I think this project has given us an idea of how that kind of bigotry can affect people."

Róisín adds: "I think that sort of bigotry can even come from your parents. If they are against something, it rubs off on you. You don't necessarily see it as being wrong. You're just going with everyone else."

"It has made us all think twice," says Gemma. "We know a lot more about how these sorts of feelings develop and why it happens." Róisín agrees: "Even though only 26 of us went to Glasgow, the whole year has been affected by the project. I think we learned a lot from it."

John Gorman is keen to hear from schools interested in this cross-community project. Contact him at Rosses Community School on 074-952112

Clubs say troublemakers are in a minority

Celtic and Rangers football clubs both have long histories. Glasgow Rangers was established in 1873 by four friends who dreamed of running their own football team: brothers Peter and Moses McNeil, Peter Campbell and William McBeath, who named the club after an English rugby team.

It wasn't long before Rangers became serious competitors in Scottish soccer. In 1877 they reached their first Scottish Cup Final.

Glasgow Celtic was founded in 1888 by a Marist brother from Sligo called Andrew Kearns, who was known as Br Walfrid. He suggested the name Celtic to signify the club's Scottish and Irish roots.

Celtic was seen to be the city's Catholic club and Rangers its Protestant one. It didn't start out like that, but the root of the rivalry lies in the society of the time. Many of Glasgow's Irish Catholics were living in slums. They would work for very little, which was seen as undercutting the largely Protestant locals. Anti-Catholic sentiment was widespread, and rivalries were played out at soccer matches.

Problems intensified as the years went on; Northern Ireland began to influence football chants, with some Celtic fans adopting a pro-IRA stance and some Rangers fans supporting loyalists. The divide led some Celtic supporters to wave tricolours; Union Jacks could be spotted among the Rangers fans.

Controversies still spring up from time to time. One occurred last year when Artur Boruc, Celtic's Polish goalkeeper, was cautioned for a breach of the peace after he blessed himself during a match.

Ironically, most of the fans at both clubs are interested only in the football. Rangers and Celtic have followers of all religions and walks of life, and the vast majority are not sectarian. For the minority who cause trouble, the rivalry could be less about religion or football and more about gang rivalries.

The clubs have launched numerous projects to combat bigotry and sectarianism. The Old Firm Alliance Initiative is a project that saw the clubs working with schools in the Glasgow area in order to educate children about these issues.

That both clubs field players of different religions and nationalities, and that these players are applauded by fans, supports the clubs' claims that, although sectarianism is still a huge problem, it is not something that most supporters get involved in.