Some more light reading for you all.... from 4-4-2 magazine
HEARTS v HIBS IS THE SECOND OLDEST city derby in British football (Nottingham takes gold), but the clubs have vastly differing roots. Adorning the reception area at the refurbished Easter Road, a wall plaque confirms Hibernian's humble Irish Catholic roots.
Formed in 1875 by members of the Catholic Young Men's society, the club became linked with the Leith area of Edinburgh, home to many of the city's Irish immigrants. Hibernian's founders were openly sectarian and unashamedly political. The club was originally - but no longer - an organisation for Catholics only.
Their shirts sported the slogan Erin-go Brah (Ireland for ever), highlighting the club's Home Rule leanings. In Unionist Scotland, the club was viewed with suspicion, and Hibs' initial application for SFA membership was refused because it was deemed to be an Irish and not a Scottish club.
As the early champions of Irish Catholicism in a Protestant Scotland, the Edinburgh club was keen to go forth and multiply; indeed, Hibs played the part of the midwife when Celtic first drew breath in 1888. The Edinburgh club assisted its Irish cousins in Glasgow financially, practically and morally, and was repaid when the Parkhead side usurped Hibs' place in Scottish football history.
Celtic's early success rankled with Presbyterian Scotland, provoking a reaction in the shape of Glasgow Rangers, who soon found themselves the footballing Protectors of the Faith in Glasgow. In Edinburgh, meanwhile, Hearts' local rivalry with Hibs meant that, almost by default, they became the city's 'Protestant club'.
The romantically named Heart of Midlothian, named after the old Tollbooth under the tower of St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, and borne purely from sporting motives, is uncertain about its age. Officially, the club claims its birth to be 1874, but some evidence suggests that it may well have been a year later and, indeed, after their rivals.
Although (as I stated earlier) it is not half as bad as the goings on in Glasgow it still does exist..... Happy??? More???