Ambitious efforts to restore the birthplace of one of Scotland's greatest sporting institutions has gone Stateside.

St Mary's Church in Glasgow's east end, where Brother Walfrid founded Celtic in 1887, has fallen into a state of disrepair over the decades, with £1m now required to complete structural improvements.

More than £750,000 has been spent making it secure against the weather. Funding was provided in part by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Scotland because the building is the oldest Catholic church in Glasgow after St Andrew's Cathedral.

The Catholic Church in Glasgow now hopes to capitalise on Celtic's links with the chapel and the resurgence of interest in the club's founder.

Monsignor Peter Smith, parish priest at St Mary's, is travelling to the gala convention in Las Vegas of 2400 Celtic fans on Friday to raffle a Celtic cross fashioned out of stone from the original parish hall in which the club was set up in November 1887.

He will brief delegates on the restoration and a proposal for a museum celebrating the Irish community in the area.

Mgr Smith said: "It's a unique opportunity to own a piece of the club's history and, at the same time, carry on the vision of Brother Walfrid to improve the lives of the people of St Mary's."