Patrick Boylan - Woolwich Arsenal FC

My great great Uncle PATRICK BOYLAN signed for The Woolwich Arsenal in 1896. Born 1876 in Greenock, Scotland to Northern Irish immigrant parents from Armagh, Patrick was a talented sportsman as a youth. Whilst working in the famous pottery works in the area he signed up for the Greenock Volunteers, a local militia based locally and the forerunner to the present Terratorial Army. At that time the Volunteers had an excellent Junior football team and Patrick was soon playing in the First XI. In 1895 they won the Greenock & District Charity Cup and we have his medal still in the family collection. The McLean Museum in Greenock recently held a small exhibition on Patrick and his story and I reunited the medal with the trophy, thanks to Morton FC. A huge thank you to both Chairman Douglas Rae and everyone at the Watt Library and McLean Museum for their hours of help!

His talent stood out and like many other Scots he was whisked down south to sign with the already famous Woolwich Arsenal FC and a job at the local armaments factory. His joy at this adventure South was short-lived though as the news came through that his older brother Daniel had been killed by a train in the Cartsburn Railway tunnel whilst walking home from his job as a Caulker at the Scott's Shipyard. This must have been an awful time for Patrick but all credit to him,he put his head down and worked hard and got into the First XI, settling in as the centre-half in a team peppered with Scots. 

The photograph on this page was taken around this time in the beginning of the 1896/1897 season. In total Patrick played 40 games that season, and scored 4 goals playing for the Firsts, Reserve(southern League), Friendlies and Cup matches before the infamous 0-8 drubbing at the hands of Loughborough on December 12th 1896. Patrick lost his place in the squad from then on and returned to Scotland for two happy seasons at Greenock Morton Fc before he disappears from football records. He died in 1938 aged only 62. I have been researching his life and career for years and will post all I find out about Patrick and his fellow Scots who signed for the Woolwich Arsenal during these formative years.