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Fullname: Patrick Gilhooley
aka: Pat Gilhooley, Pat Gilhooly, Patrick Gilluley, Pat Gilluley
Born: 6 July 1876
Died: 20 February 1907
Birthplace: Draffan, Lanarkshire
Signed: 10 October 1896
Left: 10 September 1900 (to Sheff Utd)
Position: Forward
Debut: Celtic 1-1 Hibernian, League, 28 Nov 1896
Internationals: N/A
International Caps:N/A
Biog
An early Celtic hero, Pat Gilhooley was a talented crowd pleasing forward who joined the Bhoys in October 1896. By trade, Pat Gilhooley was marked as a Spirits Salesman but also a professional footballer, married to Annie Victory Johnston.
After previously playing with Larkhall Thistle and Cambuslang Hibernian, Pat Gilhooley made his Celtic debut on October 28th when he scored in a 1-1 home league draw with Hibernian.
He was a popular figure with the support who lapped up his mazy dribbles and goals but like many naturally gifted players some critics thought he lacked the discipline to get the most out of his talent. He also had a very good scoring record, which helped the first team.
He helped Celtic to the league title in 1897-98, but the next year he played in only the early rounds of the Scottish Cup run when Celtic lifted the Scottish Cup, dropped after a 2-2 semi-final draw with Rangers, and wasn’t selected for the replay (won 4-0) or the final v Queen’s Park (won 4-3). He hadn’t played a part in the Scottish Cup run success of 1898-99 either, so disappointingly for him he lost out two years in a row to play in Scottish Cup finals.
He played in the post-season ‘Inter-city League’ for Celtic after the cup final, as well as in the Glasgow Charity Cup run as Celtic lost to Rangers in the final 5-1, revenge for Rangers who had lost the same final a year ago 2-0 (Pat Gilhooley played in both finals).
He was sold soon after to Sheffield United in September 1901 after what was seen as a dip in form which was reported to have been a result of the player’s poor attitude and unwillingness to work on his game. Some at the end were said to be happy to see the back of him due to this attitude issue.
Pat Gilhooley moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 1901 and then in 1904 he was transferred to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Notably, he was successful enough during his time in England to earn a game as a representative for the ‘English Football League’ team.
Although not the quickest of players, Pat Gilhooley was undoubtedly an excellent forward and in his time at Parkhead he scored 20 goals in 50 appearances, a goals-per-game ratio that many Celtic forwards throughout the club’s history would have been happy with.
He gave up football at Brighton (in 1905) due to ill-health and returned up north. He entered the [Glasgow] Western Infirmary on 16 January 1907 for a ‘serious operation’ but his case was reported to be hopeless, and he was sent home to Cleland.
Sadly, soon after, he was to pass away prematurely in February 1907 at the young age of 30.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1896-1901 | 46 | 4 | N/A | N/A | 50 |
| Goals: | 17 | 3 | – | – | 20 |
Honours with Celtic
Scottish League
Scottish Cup
Pictures
Forums
Notes
- His death certificate has the surname spelt as ‘Gilluley’. Most of his brothers and sisters moved to the USA in the 20s, but they used the spelling, “Gilhooly”. Details above all checked via CGS forums searches.