There are many under-estimated and under-rated players in Celtic’s history. Paddy Connolly is an excellent example.
He played for Celtic in the 1920s, won three Scottish Cup medals and one Scottish League medal, being part of 1926’s forward line Connolly, Thomson, McGrory, McInally and McLean, a forward line which stands comparison with any in Celtic’s history – an ambitious claim!
He was slight of figure and fast of pace and it was for these reasons that he was called “the greyhound”. He was also a soft-spoken, unassuming character who seldom pushed himself forward, and although he was good enough to be capped for Scotland, he played only once for the Scottish League.
He started off as a left winger but could not replace the excellent Adam McLean, but he found a place at inside left for a spell, and it was only when he was moved to the right wing to replace Andy McAtee that everyone saw his worth.
He was particularly good at the traditional Scottish skills of a winger – charging down the wing and crossing for McGrory to score – and the 1925/26 season in particular saw many examples of this, to such an extent McGrory rated him as highly as Jimmy Delaney.
He played briefly for a few other clubs but he was only really happy with Celtic whom he watched regularly until he died in 1969.
David Potter
I could be wrong but I think the bar behind Paddy in that photo belonged to Patsy Gallacher on Dumbarton Rd in Clydebank across from John Brown’s shipyard. It’s my hometown and I’m a distant relative of Patsy through my granny Gallacher.