Hibs’ first captain’s legacy set in stone

HIBERNIAN FC supporters have brought the story of their club back home to Ireland to mark their 150th anniversary, with an event in Limerick providing a fitting conclusion to a year of celebrations.

Paying tribute to one of the most crucial figures in the club’s history, the bonds formed with Ballingarry AFC—from club founder Canon Edward Joseph Hannan’s hometown—saw Michael Whelahan, the Roscommon native who brought the idea for an Irish football club in Edinburgh to Canon Hannan, honoured on a memorial wall at the club’s home ground.

Praise and pride

The event was led by the St Patrick’s Branch of the Hibernian Supporters Association, and was recognised by Consul General of Ireland in Scotland, Jerry O’Donovan, who praised the links which have always existed between Hibernian and the communities which they emerged from.

“This commemoration showcases the enduring links that sport has bridged between our two countries,” he told The Irish Voice. “While Michael Whelahan passed away more than 100 years ago, the fact that communities in both Scotland and Ireland have gathered to mark the important contribution that he made speaks volumes about the continued strength of the Irish-Scottish relationship and the contribution of the Irish diaspora to Scotland.”

Their pride in those origins has seen the St Patrick’s Branch of Hibernian FC supporters embark on a series of historical projects in their short 16-year existence, all initiated by the branch themselves, with the football club and wider fanbase being invited to join with them in celebrating the club’s heritage.

That commitment to recognising the club’s early years has led to a deep bond developing with Ballingarry AFC and before the 150th anniversary preparations were put in place, a special relationship was cemented in 2022 with the installation of a commemorative plaque at Ballingarry AFC’s ground, The Paddocks, to honour the pivotal role played by Canon Hannan—the village’s most famous son—in the founding of Hibernian FC.

Commemorations

Now, with even greater attention being paid to the origins of the club in this special anniversary year, that plaque has been joined with one to mark the efforts of Michael Whelahan.

Whelahan died on the January 20, 1926, and with the centenary of his passing coinciding with Hibernian’s 150th anniversary season, the St Pat’s Branch committed itself to commemorating that legacy both in his adopted country and in the country of his birth.

That combination of anniversaries prompted the branch to explore the possibility of citing a memorial plaque—similar to Canon Hannan’s—in Michael Whelahan’s home townland of Kilglass. While logistics prevented this from happening, the branch’s friends in Ballingarry were delighted to accommodate such a plaque alongside that of Canon Hannan’s on the purpose-built commemorative wall they had constructed at The Paddocks.

Before the journey to Ireland there was a commemoration event at Michael Whelahan’s graveside in Edinburgh’s Mount Vernon Cemetery on January 20, 2026, before the next stage in this dual memorial took place at Ballingarry AFC’s ground on Saturday March 28.

It was an event that attracted a travelling party of more than 70 Hibs fans from Edinburgh, predominantly St Pat’s members but also fans from the wider Hibs family. Those travelling from Edinburgh included direct descendants of Michael Whelahan. Supporters had also travelled from Dublin, Belfast and locations in between and the crowd was augmented by Ballingarry AFC officials, players and many locals from the village and surrounding area.

Martin McDermott, the Scottish Consul in Ireland attended and made a speech which spoke to the important role that Hibernian had played in the Edinburgh diaspora community and the strong and important links that remain between both countries, while Ballingarry AFC and St Patrick’s Branch representatives also spoke about their shared history, the bonds of friendship established down the years and Michael Whelahan’s timeless legacy.

The plaque was blessed by local parish priest, Fr Tom Carroll and the event bookended by Piper Mike Egan who played the Irish and Scottish national anthems. As always with collaborations between these two supporter groups, it was a highly impressive and professional event expertly marshalled by local man Jimmy Chawke. After the unveiling the visitors and what seemed like most of the village adjourned to Condron’s Bar where the conversation and the Guinness flowed.

A sporting institution

Founded to channel the energies of disadvantaged and discriminated against young men, Canon Hannan and Michael Whelahan had to overcome a huge amount of suspicion, hostility and obstacles to take Hibernian from parish football team to Scottish Cup winners in 12 short years.

Hibernian have since gone on to become the Edinburgh and Scottish sporting institution we know today—a club open to all and which welcomes all but that respects and recognises its Irish immigrant origins. A club that in many ways would be unrecognisable to Michael Whelahan but in many ways would be instantly recognisable to him and that in itself is proof of his enduring legacy.