A 'MOST intriguing' piece of Celtic memorabilia owned by a Greenock man for more than 20 years is set to to be auctioned off next week for the Beatson Cancer Charity.

Lifelong Hoops fan Gerry Quigley has been sitting on a piece of 'paradise' after buying former club chairman Fergus McCann's director's box seat in a sale for the same good cause in 1999.

Now retired architect Gerry has teamed up with McTear's Auctioneers to put what is described as a 'hugely important piece of Celtic heritage' under the hammer for a second time.

The McCann seat, from which he watched his beloved Celtic at Parkhead, will feature in McTear's Scottish Greats sporting auction next Friday and it is estimated to sell for between £1,000 and £2,000.

McTear's 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.

"Following a shaky start, Fergus McCann's time at the club is now hailed as one of the most important periods in the club's history, and the start of a golden spell for Celtic."

Seller Gerry — who has decided to auction the seat following his son receiving successful cancer treatment in Australia — said: "I was friendly with Fergus and always felt that he was ahead of his time as he developed the club and laid the foundations for Celtic’s future success.

"I remember Chick Young was hosting the charity auction, and right at the end shouted, 'look what Celtic are throwing out!'.

"I knew this was an opportunity not to be missed so threw my hat in the ring.

"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.

"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.

"I have kept Fergus’s seat warm for 20 years and I feel the time is right to let another passionate Celtic fan have a seat for a wee while."

McTear's Mr Bruce said: "Week in and week out 'the bunnet', as he became known, would sit in this very chair to watch his beloved team, and we are delighted that we are now in a position to help find a new home for this hugely important piece of Celtic heritage.

"Gerry Quigley, has been a tireless charity champion for many years and this latest impressive gesture for the Beatson is another example of his huge generosity.

"McTear's will be waving all vendor fees, with the full hammer price and buyer's premium going directly to Beatson Cancer Charity."

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 hope the sporting auction is a great success and 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."