Walfrid : A Life of Faith, Community and FootballBy: Michael Connolly

Andrew Kerins [Brother Walfrid] [1840 – 1915] was one of the most significant Irish immigrants to Scotland. He was an outstanding individual in relation to Catholic education and charity in Glasgow and a major contributor to the emergence of organised sport in Scotland in the late nineteenth century.

He was but one individual, amongst countless thousands of victims, who survived the catastrophe of An Gorta Mor in Ireland, only to be forced to leave behind family, community and homeland in the hope of finding a better life overseas. Over one million others perished owing to the prevalence of starvation and disease during Ireland’s darkest period. Kerins left for Glasgow as a fifteen-year-old boy and the spectre of hunger, accompanied by a concern for the spiritual and physical well-being of others, are motifs which endured throughout his long and impactful life.

Dr Michael Connolly’s research points up three major themes which motivated Walfrid’s actions in life with the Marist Brothers – namely, his Catholic faith, communitybased charitable action, alongside a close and enduring association with football, and Celtic FC in particular. He played a leading role in originally founding Celtic in order to support the impoverished Irish Catholic diaspora in Glasgow. Later in life he did the same work in London’s East End.