Born in Dublin in 1887, Patrick O'Connell went on to have a storied career in football.
A centre-back, he played for Belfast Celtic, Sheffield Wednesday, Hull City and Manchester United. His playing career would finish in the early 20s, at which point his managerial career - for which he is far better known - began.
After initially managing Ashington, O'Connell took over at Racing Santander in Spain. He would remain there for seven years before going on to manage Real Oviedo and Real Betis. With the latter, he won their only ever La Liga title. In Spain he would become known as 'Don Patricio'.
Reputation at a high, O'Connell became manager of Barcelona. His first season was a success as Barca reached the Spanish Cup final, losing 2-1 to Real Madrid. O'Connell had joined the club just as the Spanish Civil War was beginning to smoulder. It meant an unsure time financially and politically.
It was here that O'Connell's reputation as the man who saved Barcelona was born. The club in desperate need of money and the political situation worsening, O'Connell took the players on a tour of Mexico and the US, at the invitation of a Catalan businessman who had emigrated to Mexico. The money raised for the tour, $15,000 was enough to keep the club afloat.
An impoverished O'Connell died of pneumonia in London, more than 20 years later in 1959. He was buried in an anonymous grave in Kilburn.
57 years after his death, the Patrick O'Connell Fund today achieved one of its main goals - a proper resting place for Don Patricio.
57yrs in the making...@McDonnellDan @emmetmalone @offtheball @cianmnews @alfonso_del @TreceBarras13 @totalBarca pic.twitter.com/l5oP3vUG55
— Patrick O'Connell (@PatricioFund) May 3, 2016
If you want to learn a bit more about Patrick O'Connell, TG4 broadcasted an excellent documentary about him a few years back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwN2i8baWHE
