They could have concentrated on being a debating society. Majored on the activities of the choral union. Thrown themselves into the drama club or accordion band. Or simply hung around the smoking room most of the time, occasionally rousing themselves for a game of skittles, dominoes or draughts. But oh no. The Catholic Young Men’s Society of St Patrick’s Church in Edinburgh just had to go and play football, become Hibs and for 150 years drive successive generations to distraction, despair and, every once in a while, delirium.

Author Aidan Smith takes readers on an enthralling meander through the history of his beloved club, from those early musings by the founding fathers through to the triumphs and tribulations of the 21st century. In 150 bitesize helpings, the story of Hibs is served up in delicious fashion. Who could forget the pass of the millennium or the swoon-inducing swagger of sixties heartthrob Peter Marinello? Readers can revel in recollections of the real Jim Herriot, keeping goal rather than all creatures great and small, and recoil at the thought of the wine bar empire entwined in the club’s darkest hour. Hibs at 150 bridges the generations and peels back the layers of a century and half of history, heritage and hysteria.