George Best's chaotic Cork Celtic chapter to be told in TG4 special

He was 28, out of Manchester United and the question was, what would be next for George Best?

Football’s brightest star had burned too hot for too long, and by the winter of 1975, Best was available on a ‘play for pay’ policy. He had already featured for Jewish Guild in Johannesburg, Dunstable Town in Bedfordshire, and Stockport County. Now, Best was available to the next bidder.

That bidder miraculously turned out to be Cork Celtic.

Fifty years on, the surreal story of how one of the all-time greats briefly became a Cork Celtic footballer is being retold in George Best i gCorcaigh, a new TG4 documentary airing on St Stephen’s Day at 8.15pm.

The film, produced by Dearg Films, includes rare archive footage of Best in a Celtic jersey – a sight that even now feels faintly unreal – and fresh interviews with those who played alongside him in that brief, chaotic spell.

At the time, Cork Celtic were in trouble. Crowds had thinned, the money was drying up, and manager Bobby Tambling – who knew Best from their clashes when he was at Chelsea – decided to take the wild swing. He travelled to England to sound out the Belfast genius. For a fee, Best agreed.

And just like that, the man who had once ruled Europe with Manchester United, who had lifted the Ballon d’Or in 1968, was on his way to Flower Lodge.

The first appearance came against Drogheda United in a 2-0 defeat, but some 12,000 people crammed into the ground, a gate the club hadn’t seen in a long time.

His stay lasted just three matches. The other two, against Bohemians and Shelbourne, again attracted big crowds through the gate, but Best failed to make any sort of impression.

Failure to turn up for a game saw him dropped, and that marked the end of his time on Leeside, just like that. A flicker of magic faded almost as quickly as it appeared.

From there, Best’s journey took him to Los Angeles Aztecs, back to England with second tier side Fulham, and then off to the States again.

And yet, half a century later, the legend of it still endures.

The documentary revisits his improbable Cork chapter through the voices of those who lived it, including former Celtic teammates Alfie McCarthy, Bryan McSweeney, Jerry Myers and John “Blondie” Carroll.

It also includes interviews from broadcasters and fans John Creedon, Ger Canning and Trevor Welch; Republic of Ireland international Méabh De Búrca; and Cork GAA icon Jimmy Barry-Murphy, who also wore Cork Celtic colours.

Shot entirely on location in Cork, George Best i gCorcaigh tells the story with affection and disbelief in equal measure.

For a few extraordinary weeks, one of the greatest footballers of all time was there to watch at Flower Lodge.

George Best i gCorcaigh airs on TG4 on St Stephen’s Night at 8.15pm and will be available afterwards on the TG4 Player.