Bonnyrigg Rose: What promotion to the SPFL means to chairman Charlie Kirkwood

The idea that Bonnyrigg could one day be playing Scottish League football was unfathomable back in the 60s when Kirkwood was a lad watching the Rose with his dad.

So when the unfathomable became reality at Central Park, Cowdenbeath on Saturday, it brought a tear to the eye. “It’s mind blowing for me,” he says.

When the moment came Kirkwood thought about the dedication shown by the committee since he took over chairman 13 years ago of a club that was in a bad way. He thought of the wider community support that has been sought and harnessed. And he thought of his late dad, a Bonnyrigg Rose devotee who passed on his love for the club from father to son.

The moment arrived when left-back Neil Martynuick dispatched his penalty in the 62nd minute to give the Rosey Posey a 1-0 lead on the day in Fife and put them 4-0 ahead on aggregate in the pyramid play-off final. With no way back for crestfallen Cowdenbeath, a lump came to Kirkwood’s throat. It was a special moment.

“When we got the penalty, that was me, it set me off,” he says, choking up. “I’m quite an emotional person. I knew when we scored that was it. They weren’t going to come back from that.

“On a personal not it makes me very, very proud to be the chairman. I was 11 years old when I first took the job as kit boy and I’m 68 now. I always supported them and when I had my own window cleaning business I used to sponsor them. My family came through from Motherwell. My dad, God rest him, was a big Bonnyrigg fan. Every game, he loved the Rose, him and his two pals.”

His dad will be proud. When Kirkwood stepped up to become chairman, Bonnyrigg Rose had problems. They now have financial stability, much-improved facilities at New Dundas Park, a progressive community club