Patsy
Gallacher (1891 - 1953)
The legendary Patsy Gallacher played 569 games for
Glasgow Celtic and despite gracing the hallowed turf at Celtic Park
in the nineteen twenties the reverence in which he was held lives on
- he was a legendary soccer star and that legend lives on. And nowhere
is it more potent than in his native Ramelton where he grew up
in the early days of the last century.
Patsy was born in the old Milford Workhouse on March 16th 1891 in an
island rampant with poverty and depression and like many of his contemporaries
the family was destined to emigrate to Scotland. His parents were both
illiterate: Willie and Margaret Gallagher went to Glasgow in search
of work a few short years after Patsy's birth and so began a tale of
soccer greatness.
Donegal has always had a special affinity with the city of Glasgow
and Ramelton in particular continues that tradition: much of it is
founded on the Gallacher legend. Ramelton has changed much from over
a hundred years ago; nevertheless many of the fine old Victorian buildings
that dotted the landscape and made the town a prime commercial centre
remain.
At the end of the 19th century the railway came to Donegal: Letterkenny
rather than Ramelton was its destination and so began the decline of
the Lennonside town. In previous times it was the prime location for
British rule in this part of the world and as Ireland continued to
be governed from Westminister this part of the hemisphere was neglected
and work was hard to find. That tale is not all that much different
to this very day despite several generations of Dublin rule.
Willie Gallagher was employed locally as a mail van driver and that
job while better than most - it could not realistically support a wife
and a large family. They had seven of a family, four boys and three
girls. They were named Johnnie, Willie, Jimmy, Patrick, Madge, Mary
and Maggie. Towards the end of the 19th century they left Ramelton
amid the exodus of the emigration years. The country was still recovering
from the plight of the Famine and the political situation was, to say
the least unstable.
The Famine wreaked havoc on many families and indeed the Gallaghers
were no exception. The all powerful British government did very little
to ease the plight of the starving millions and the era of landlordism
was also at its height in the countryside. Along with the tyranny visited
on the people by Westminister the role of the Catholic Church has also
come under scrutiny since they did little or nothing to alleviate the
problem. The Vatican has often been accused of showing 'a cynical indifference'
to the situation that engulfed the country from 1845 to 1848. The population
was mainly of ten million was mainly Catholic in 1845 and be the turn
of the century it had dwindled to less than three million. It was the
original cynical attempt at ethnic cleansing.
It was also the era of Lord Leitrim: the heartless and cruel landlord
who evicted countless families on the sides of the road across a wide
swathe of his territory in the north west. Donegal suffered terribly
until that fateful day in April 1878 when he was assassinated at Cratlagh
on the shores of Mulroy Bay. Gallagher postal horse and carriage was
following a short distance behind the Leitrim cavalcade as the rounded
the Carrigart road as it skirted the Mulroy a few short miles from
Milford. What exactly Gallagher witnessed was never made known to the
authorities and soon after that historic day he left Ireland with his
family.
The settled in Clydebank with an address at 32 John Knox Street and
thereby hangs a tale of how the Gallagher name came to be altered.
The man who came to put the postal name plate on their door spelt the
name Gallacher in error but the family decided to leave it alone since
the Scottish spelling might give them some more credibility when searching
for jobs.
Willie found work immediately as a shipyard storeman and the young
Patsy went to school at the Holy Redeemer Primary School and by 1905
his talents began to be notices by the scouts. He was reputed to live
and breathe soccer and in 1907 he was playing for a juvenile side called
Renfrew St. James: one of the most successful sides in the area. The
Gallagher clock rolled on to 1910 when he was selected to play against
St. Mirren and also the Rest of Scotland against Lanarkshire. These
games attracted a lot of coverage and many of the well known clubs
sent along their scouts.
At this time Willie Maley managed Glasgow Celtic but the dream of playing
for the legendary team was a long way from the young Gallacher's mind.
He left school at fifteen and began to serve his apprenticeship in
carpentry at the famous John Brown's Shipyard and the family had by
now settled into a very different life in Clydebank. Work was plentiful
and while wages were not massive it was a much better environment than
the one they had left behind in Ramelton.
Were it not for the Gallagher parents' decision to relocate in Scotland
the name of Patsy Gallacher would probably never have been heard tell
of since his soccer skills were being noticed on a much wider stage.
Every Irish emigrant knew about Celtic and their foundations and in
fact it was almost as important as religion.
Patsy came to the attention of the larger soccer stage on that night
in May of 1910 but the senior teams were not all that interested. His
stature and small frame was not seen as being suited to the more physical
type of game that was traditional in that era. But it was Clydebank
Juniors who were first to give him a chance to try his luck and he
played for them through the season 1910-1911.
His progress was steadily being brought to the attention of the Celtic
manager Willie Maley who by all accounts was a canny man. It is reported
that the skills of the young Gallacher was first brought to his attention
by a soccer writer: John Dunlop who wrote sport for the Daily Record
always claimed he was the one who made Maley sit up and take notice
of the budding young Ramelton man.
As Gallacher starred for Clydebank the season at Parkhead was a dismal
one by their standards and new talent was urgently needed. Clydebank
now had a lethal right wing pairing in Gallacher and Casey and soon
the Celtic manager came along to see for himself the potential of this
pairing. But Casey faded and he never made any further impression at
senior level.
But the Gallacher story was about to begin.
He played for Celtic for the first time ever on the Rood Fair Day:
October 1911 and it was the Dumfries bank holiday. They had agreed
to play Celtic in a traditional friendly game and Patsy Gallacher was
invited to join the squad for the match. In fact at the same time he
was also asked to play for Clyde. But he chose Celtic and so began
the legend. They won the match comfortably and Gallacher got his name
on the score sheet twice and he was invited to play for them again
a month later. This time the opposition was an army team and the Celts
won 5-0 with the Ramelton lad getting a hat-trick.
Then on November 11th 1911 he was offered a part-time contract which
he accepted despite the family having some reservations about his new
career. He was now twenty years of age and the glorious era of the
six titles in a row for Celtic was fast fading as the stars of that
generation were going over the hill. The club won the Scottish Cup
in 1911 but otherwise the season was one of their worst and it was
long since obvious that big changes were needed. But it was never going
to be easy breaking into the first team. But eventually after a good
spell in the reserves he made the break.
On Sunday December 11th 1911 the Celtic fans got their first real glimpse
of Patsy Gallacher in the home game against St. Mirren and while his
performance was not brilliant he had done enough to establish himself
for the future in the senior side. For the record he played alongside
such names as McAtee, Adams, Dodds, Young, Looney. Johnstone, Quinn,
Donaldson and Brown.
Soon the Ramelton man would be in the side against Aberdeen and the
scene was now set for his inclusion in the side against Hearts in the
Scottish Cup semi-final. He had displaced the legendary Paddy Travers
and for him it was essentially the end of the road. Celtic won comfortably
by 3-0.
Gallacher starred on that occasion and Celtic aficionados will recall
the date as March 23rd. At that time there was only a week between
the semi-finals and final and it was indeed a historic one for the
world. The Titanic was making its maiden voyage and Scott's expedition
was lost on their own voyage to the South Pole. In Glasgow the centre
stage was taken by Celtic and Clyde who were opposing each other at
Ibrox in the final.
Gallacher was in that side and in a short time he had become a big
hero with the fans. At the age of 21 Gallacher came of age on that
day: A crowd of 45,000 were in Ibrox to see the game and the crowning
glory was when Gallacher scored the second Celtic goal to seal a notable
victory.
Having won a Scottish Cup medal he, nevertheless had to wait until
1914 for a League medal. Rangers had won the previous three titles
but luck was with the Celts as the war clouds grew over the country
and the also captured the Scottish Cup again.
As Celtic toured Europe on a grand summer break the played one of their
most inspiring games in Berlin and the fans flocked to witness their
skills. Gallacher starred in theses epic games but then on August 4th
the First World War was declared. But the Scottish season began as
usual ten days later. As the impact of the war came home to everyone
sport soon began to experience its impact. The minimum wage was only £4
and ten shillings a week and it was then reduced to £2 and again
by a further £1.
Gallacher went back to carpentry at John Brown's after being a full
time player for only one season. But the game went on and things life
was about much more than football as the theatres of war spread across
the European landscape.
Celtic again won the league title in 1915 and for Patsy it was a great
season. His silken dribbling skills were a big feature of the success
of the team but unfortunately the Cup final was cancelled.
However the young Gallacher had other more pressing things on his mind.
He got married on June 28th 1915 to his sweetheart: Mary Josie Donegan
hailed from Renfrew and the family owned a small tobacconist's shop
there.
The 1915 season opened on a much less optimistic note with the war
now raging and many casualties reported. Indeed the Scottish league
suffered badly with a drop in attendances due to so many of its young
men joining the efforts on the battle front. Christmas Day of that
year is noted in legend for a soccer match between German and British
teams in no man's land and back in Glasgow Celtic trounced Airdrie
6-0 with Gallacher getting his first recorded hat-trick for the club.
However the following year of 1916 was going to prove difficult for
the Irish community in Britain. They were never over-fond of the UK
war with Germany for obvious reasons but they remained quiet and subdued
as a recruiting campaign continued to bolster the numbers of volunteers
joining the army.
Then on April 24th the GPO in Dublin's O'Connell Street was taken over
by the IRA and the Proclamation declaring a Republic was read. The
historical events of those dramatic days in Ireland were followed closely
by the emigrants and the impact was felt deeply in Glasgow with so
many recent arrivals from the country. On the soccer field Patsy Gallacher
got on with what he did best: score goals and help his club to another
record breaking season which reached a climax on April 1917 when Celtic
won the league; the clinched the title with a fine win over Dumbarton
but less than 8000 spectators were in attendance. The club had now
achieved a four in a row in league titles.
Gallacher was never conscripted in the war years but on the field he
was taunted as being a coward and the club also lost one of its finest
players in action on the front. Peter Johnstone was killed in France
and as centre-half he had few equals. He had joined the Argyll and
Sutherland Highlanders in search of action and he died at Arras as
British troops attempted a break through German lines. He was a Celtic
player since 1908. On leave in 1916 he played in Celtic's first two
games of the season.
Rangers broke the grip of Celtic by winning the 1917 league title and
by this time Britain was in the midst of rationing and severe shortages
occupied people's minds and soccer took a poor second place. The 1918-'19
season was the fifth one during the Great War and on August 17th Celtic
defeated Hibernian on the opening day of the season by 3-0 at Easter
Road. It was an important time for the club but a more important event
dominated. On November 11th 1918 the Armistice was announced and the
soldiers began returning home, slowly. However the dead and injured
had taken a heavy toll and this was added to be demands for Partition
back home in Ireland. The Great Flu and a serious employment crisis
Glasgow were also issues of serious concern as the football season
took off in earnest in January 1919. In fact it was a race between
Celtic and Rangers. Gallacher returned to the side after illness and
injury and some of the other greats of that era were also back in action.
They would have included Andy McAtee who had returned unscathed from
the trenches in Italy. Joe Dodds and Willie McStay joined the ageing
legend of MeMenemy and so the scene was set for a dramatic end to the
campaign.
Celtic clinched the first of their post war titles in a sensational
last day of the season on May 10th. They went into the game against
Ayr leading Rangers by a point and needed victory. Rangers hammered
Clyde 4-0 but Celtic defeated Ayr 2-0.
For Gallacher the summer of 1919 had other joys to celebrate. His wife
gave birth to a son on June 29th and he was christened William and
he too would don the Celtic jersey in future years. Around this time
Patsy was still working in the shipyard and soccer could not provide
sufficient money to keep a family even in modest comforts. He went
into the pub trade and purchased licensed premises in Clydebank. He
continued playing football and again he was his usual self in style,
skills and sheer class. Changes were signalled at Parkhead in the summer
of 1920 with McMenemy given a free transfer after almost twenty years
at the club. However it was Gallacher's threat to leave the club in
a dispute over wages and conditions that really upset the faithful.
The matter was eventually sorted out for the start of the new season.
It was one of serious disappointment on the terraces with Rangers running
away with the league.
For Gallacher fans the best was yet to come and 1921 is seen as the
best of all in Patsy's years at Parkhead.It was a highly consistent
record of wins and for Gallacher's fans it was one of sheer delight.
He scored many memorable goals including a brilliant individual effort
against Hamilton Academicals. Celtic won the league by a narrow margin
but it has become a part of the rich legend of the game.
By this time Patsy was an international hero and his star was still
rising. He won his third Cup medal in 1923 but thereafter Celtic hit
hard times. Wages were central to the problems with many of the playing
staff complaining their salaries were away below that of Gallacher.
This was supposed to be a private dispute that got into the public
domain and somehow it had serious consequences. The Parkhead club was
not renowned for paying a decent wage and Rangers players earned considerably
more: or so the story goes.
The depression of the 1924 season ended for Celtic with a win in the
Glasgow Charity Shield and the Gallacher pub was doing a roaring business
back in Clydebank.
The legend of the famed final of 1925 is already well told in many
writings about the Celtic era. Nevertheless any mention of Gallacher
without reference to that final at Hampden on April 11th would not
be doing him a serious injustice. They did poorly in the league and
finished fourth with Rangers again dominating. After hammering Rangers
in the semi-final they were favourites to defeat Dundee in what turned
out to be an epic final.
That goal as it has often been described came after a foul on Wilson
half way inside the Dundee half. Connolly took the free towards the
penalty area where Peter Wilson played it on to Gallacher. However
he was about to be tackled by Thomson who lunged forwards Gallacher
had the alertness to realise the danger and he could easily have risked
having his leg smashed if he continued on his way. Instead he jumped
the tackle with the ball wedged between his feet and he propelled himself
into the back of the net to score what was to become his most memorable
goal. Celtic won the game by a rout but that goal has become the benchmark
by which Gallacher's career has been measured ever since.
In that summer he travelled to the United States to play in a series
of friendly matches and by now he was 34 years of age. His demise at
Parkhead loomed ever closer and he was dogged by injury. The end of
the golden years were already being flagged as Gallacher suffered a
further knee injury at the start of the '26 season and he was out of
action for several weeks. In fact he scored his final goal for Celtic
in a Glasgow Cup semi-final against Rangers on Wednesday October 7th
in 1925. On July 29th 1926 Gallacher sought a transfer from his beloved
club and it was granted by the Manager, Willie Maley. At 35 his career
with the club was finished.
In October he joined Falkirk for the princely transfer fee of £1.500.
He would remain on their books until his retirement in 1932. A family
tragedy struck the Gallachers in mid summer of 1929. Mary gave birth
to their sixth child and soon their joy turned to sadness when it was
realised she had serious complications arising from the birth. She
was rushed to hospital in Glasgow and on June 30th she died. This was
a huge blow to Patsy and it was rumoured that he was coming back to
Ireland to play for Derry City. This was untrue but the story came
from the belief that he was about to return to Rathmullan where he
had purchased the Coastguard Station for his parents who had come back
to live there. In any event Gallacher stayed in Glasgow.
His career petered out as he reached forty years of age and sadly for
all his fans his years at Falkirk were not marked with any success.
In his international career he played on eleven occasions for Ireland
and once for the Free State. He also had two caps for the Scottish
League.
His life outside of football was successful as a landlord of his own
pub but he developed cancer in around 1950 and despite operations and
treatments he died on June 17th 1953. He was only 62 years of age and
in a lifetime dedicated to Glasgow Celtic he became one of their most
influential and most loved players.
Various writers have compiled many fine accounts of his life and times
at the club. The best and the most detailed is called 'The Mighty Atom'
by David W. Potter.
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