Farrell, Patrick

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Personal

Fullname: Patrick Farrell
aka: Pat Farrell, Paddy Farrell
Born: 3 April 1872
Birthplace: Belfast
Died: 1950
Signed: 1 August 1896 (from Distillery)
Left: 4 May 1897 (to Arsenal)
Position: Half-Back
Debut: Arthurlie 4-2 Celtic, Scottish Cup, 9 Jan 1897
Internationals: Ireland
International Caps: 2 Caps – None whilst with Celtic

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Biog

Half-back Pat Farrell made just a solitary senior appearance for Celtic after signing for the Bhoys from Irish side Distillery in 1895. He was described as “merely useful” but also once as ‘fleet-footed‘.

Unfortunately for Pat Farrell that solitary game for the first team was the infamous 4-2 Scottish Cup defeat to minnows Arthurlie in January 1897, regarded by many as the most humiliating result in Celtic’s history although there have been others that can challenge for that title.

Changes were inevitably going to happen, and Pat Farrell was not to again play for the Celtic first team. He was pulled into the side to make up the numbers, as Celtic players were said to be on strike, plus suspensions, injuries etc; Celtic were starting with seven men and four reserves/fillers. Arthurlie applied the right tactics, narrowed their pitch and got stuck in to possibly an over-confident Celtic side.

He later enjoyed spells at Woolwich Arsenal, Brighton Utd, Distillery and Brighton & Hove Albion.

At newly formed (and short lived) Brighton Utd, he played in a team with around nine Scottish players.

At Arsenal, Farrell made his debut in the opening day 4-1 win over Grimsby Town but could not hold down a regular place. He played 19 games in the league and added another three appearances in FA Cup qualifiers. He was also sited as being Arsenal’s first substitute but this is tenuous, see below.

Things didn’t work out at Celtic but apparently at Brighton he was much appreciated where he was famed not just as a footballer but as the man to have your money on when it came to challenge races at the sprints.

Once he returned back to Distillery he helped them win a second Irish League title in 1900/01 on top of the one he won with them in 1895/96.

He had also won two caps for the Ireland side (then covering the whole isle), but was at the end of a humiliating 11-0 defeat to Scotland and a 1-0 loss to Wales.

He returned to Brighton to play for the new Brighton & Hove Albion club in 1901-04, and then went on to settle down in Sussex.

He passed away in 1950.

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Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

none

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Biography
Source: http://nifootball.blogspot.co.uk/2006/11/pat-farrell.html
Having come through Junior football with Ligoniel and Belfast Celtic in the mid-1890s, Pat Farrell’s first season at Distillery coincided with a three trophy haul of League, Irish Cup and Co. Antrim Shield, only being denied the City Cup courtesy of a goal by ‘scrimmage’ in the City Cup play-off replay with Linfield.

Signed by Glasgow Celtic in August 1896, Farrell was merely a squad player at Parkhead, his only first-team appearances coinciding with one of the most shocking results in Scottish Cup history. Celtic were suffering a crisis due to a players’ strike, and started the First Round match with Arthurlie with just seven men. Junior club Arthurlie, had played the role of underdogs to perfection, narrowing the pitch and sending out the team to get “stuck-in”, and ran out 4-2 winners.

The following May Farrell moved south, signing for Woolwich Arsenal in the English Second Division. He made his Gunners debut against Grimsby Town on 1 September 1897 and retained his place for much of the season. In all Farrell played forty times for Arsenal, including reserve games and friendlies, scoring six times.

The “fleet-footed” Farrell stepped ‘down’ to the Southern League with newly formed Brighton United. He played in a total of 57 competitive games while at the County Ground, but the club folded towards the end of the 1899/1900 season, leaving Farrell without a club.

He returned to Distillery, picking up another Irish League title. He also won his first major representative honours, playing for the Irish League in a 2-1 reverse by their Scottish counterparts at the Oval in February 1901, and a week later making his Ireland debut against Scotland. The game finished in an 11-0 defeat, equalling Ireland’s worst result since the 13-0 defeat by England in their first ever international outing. A month later the Irish team regrouped somewhat to finish lose by a single goal against Wales.

Farrell returned to the English south coast in the summer of 1901 to sign for the newly-formed Brighton and Hove Albion. He made his debut for the Seagulls in an FA Cup preliminary round match with Brighton Athletic on 21 September 1901, and was an ever-present in that first season. The following year he helped the club to their first ever promotion, to the Southern League First Division.

An early example of a journey-man professional, by the end of his career Farrell was able to “settle down in comfortable circumstances” in Sussex.

Ireland Cap Details:
23-02-1901 Scotland A L 0-11 BC
23-03-1901 Wales… H L 0- 1 BC

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