A PIECE of 'Paradise' Celtic memorabilia which has had pride of place in Inverclyde for more than 20 years is staying in the district after going under the hammer at auction for £4,000.

Businessman John Mulholland — owner of the Carpetrite superstore in Greenock — snapped up the director's box chair of club saviour Fergus 'The Bunnet' McCann in a charity sale run by McTear's.

The significant slice of Parkhead history had been with retired Greenock architect Gerry Quigley since he himself bought it in an auction to raise funds for the Beatson Cancer Charity in 1999.

Now the chair, which Mr McCann sat on as he watched his beloved Hoops, has sold for five-times the £800 Gerry got it for 23 years ago.

New owner John said: "I have been a Celtic fan all my life and when I heard that Fergus's chair was going to auction I decided to put in a bid.

"'The bunnet' was such a huge figure in Celtic's history and it is a privilege to take ownership of this important piece of Celtic heritage."

Proceeds from the sale has once again gone to the Beatson charity.

John said: "Beatson Cancer Charity does fantastic work and I am pleased that they will also get a funding boost from the auction."

Seller Gerry — who once designed a house in Edinburgh for former Rangers manager Graeme Souness — told of his 'delight' at the outcome.

He said: "I remember Chick Young was hosting the [1999] charity auction, and right at the end he shouted, 'Look what Celtic are throwing out!'.

"I knew this was an opportunity not to be missed so threw my hat in the ring and fortunately I managed to secure the chair and give the Beatson a funding boost.

"Over the years it has been a real talking point when folk are visiting and we have used the chair to raise additional funds for charity too."

Gerry and his wife Maureen decided to sell the McCann chair following successful cancer treatment for his son in Australia.

He said: "My daughter-in-law is an oncologist at the Beatson, and we have seen the marvellous work they do day in, day out, so when we decided to sell the chair we knew where we wanted the funds to go."

Scottish-Canadian businessman Mr McCann is a legendary figure amongst the Celtic faithful, having brought the club back from the brink of financial ruin in 1994.

McTear's Auctioneers sporting specialist, James Bruce, said: "We have sold some very rare and unusual pieces of Old Firm memorabilia over the years, but I think this has to be one of the most intriguing items to go under the hammer.

"It was a lively auction and we are delighted that the chair has now found a new home, and that Beatson Cancer Charity will benefit from the £4,000 proceeds."

A Beatson Cancer Charity spokesperson said: "We are thankful that the Quigley family have once again considered us to benefit from their fundraising efforts.

"We are very grateful to everyone who gets involved to support our charity — it allows us to help so many cancer patients and their families across the west of Scotland."

The chair is upholstered in deep green button back vinyl, with hinged seat and plaques to the underside inscribed 'FERGUS McCANN' and numbered '13'.