Celtic legend’s wife dies on flight which was forced to divert to Cork Airport

The widow of Celtic legend Tommy Burns has died on a flight from Tenerife which was forced to make an emergency landing at Cork Airport.

Rosemary Burns, 69, reportedly passed away after falling ill on a Jet2 flight to Glasgow yesterday.

Flight LS176 departed from Tenerife at 10.16pm on Tuesday and was on its way to Glasgow International Airport when the cabin crew declared an on-board incident early on Wednesday.

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The aircraft was flying just off the south coast of Ireland when the medical emergency was declared and the Jet2 flight was subsequently diverted to Cork Airport.

According to the Daily Record, Rosemary had become unwell while on holiday in the Canaries and boarded an earlier flight home.

They said: “Rosemary became unwell while on holiday in Tenerife. She became ill and felt that she had to get home.

“She decided to end her trip and fly back to Scotland. She got on the plane and became unwell. The flight was supposed to land in Glasgow but it ended up being diverted to Cork.”

Jet2 confirmed flight LS176 was diverted to Cork after a passenger became ill on board in the early hours of Wednesday.

Celtic FC have paid tribute to Rosemary in a post shared on their social media accounts.

“Everyone at Celtic Football Club is devastated to hear of the passing of Rosemary Burns, wife of Celtic legend Tommy Burns,” the club wrote.

“The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the club, and the entire Celtic Family are with Emma, Jenna, Michael and Jonathan at this desperately sad time.”

Rosemary and Tommy met as just 17-years-old at a disco in Glasgow. They married in 1980 and went on to have four children together.

The couple were married for 28 years before Tommy’s death in 2008.

Tommy spent 14 years as a player with Celtic, winning six league championships, five Scottish Cups and one League Cup medal during his time with the club.

He returned to Celtic Park in 1994 as manager and guided the Glasgow club the Scottish Cup in 1995 – Celtic’s first trophy in six years.

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