Supporters to hail Hibernian's history

THIS year Hibernian Football Club celebrates its 150th anniversary with a series of events to commemorate the landmark occasion.

Founded on August 6, 1875 by Canon Edward Joseph Hannan of St Patrick’s Church in Edinburgh’s Cowgate and Michael Whelehan, a member of the parish’s Catholic Young Men’s Society, the club was created to provide recreational opportunities for the disenfranchised youth of the cities ‘Little Ireland’ district. These humble origins gave rise to one of Scotland’s most famous football clubs and provided the template that others followed.

It’s perhaps fitting that the first significant celebratory event of the year will be hosted by the St Patrick’s Branch of the Hibernian Supporters Association. Their annual St Patrick’s Night Dance was, this year, being dedicated to celebrate the club’s 150th anniversary.

Established in 2010, the branch looks to recognise the role of Hibernian’s founding fathers and continue the charitable ethos which underpinned the club’s formation. These values have seen it become the branch of choice for hundreds of Hibs fans with two famous footballing Patricks—Stanton and Nevin—acting as patron and honorary member respectively.

Of course, Hibernian have evolved from those early days as the representatives of a poor and impoverished Irish immigrant community, to become an Edinburgh and Scottish institution supported by people from all backgrounds and all or no religions. The St Patrick’s Branch reflects that broad-based, diverse demographic, having no religious or political affiliations and being named after the club’s birthplace for purely historic reasons.

Like all football fans they are primarily focused on the here and now, the week by week results that determine moods and back-to work Mondays. The added dimension that defines St Pat’s—as they’re known—is their commitment to celebrate and commemorate the legacy of Hibernian’s founding fathers, a spirit which has manifested itself in a series of ambitious historical initiatives.

On March 17, 2013 they installed a plaque in St Patrick’s Church that pays tribute to the role of Canon Hannan and Michael Whelehan in founding Hibernian Football Club, while on December 7 that year they also unveiled the renovated and rededicated grave of 1902 Scottish Cup winning team trainer Dan McMichael. That ceremony took place in Dan McMichael’s resting place, the Eastern Cemetery, which lies in the shadows of Hibernian’s Easter Road stadium. Both events were attended by Hibernian’s then owner Sir Tom Farmer, board members, manager and hundreds of supporters.

That 1902 Scottish Cup success wasn’t repeated until May 21, 2016, a day that will be forever etched in the minds of Hibs fans. The cup-winning manager Alan Stubbs and his assistant John Doolan were guests of honour at a branch Q and A evening shortly thereafter. It was a year that also marked the 25th anniversary of Hibernian’s 1991 Skol Cup win. To celebrate this quarter century landmark, the St Patrick’s branch staged an event before a packed audience in the Hibs Supporters Association clubrooms, attended by nearly all the players who lifted that trophy and their manager Alex Miller. Attendees watched a rerun of the Cup Final against Dunfermline Athletic and had the opportunity to mingle with the stars of 1991.

Perhaps the most ambitious project the branch has undertaken to date was honouring the memory of Canon Hannan in his home village of Ballingarry, County Limerick. Working in association with Ballingarry AFC—and having liaised with Hibernian—the branch installed a mosaic plaque bearing the club’s original harp crest set in an impressive commemorative wall. Prominently situated in the club’s ‘The Paddocks’ football ground it was unveiled on September 24, 2022, by the late Hibernian Director Stephen Dunn, John Cronin and other Ballingarry AFC representatives, together with St Patrick’s Chairman Dougie Mcleod.

It was an event that attracted a large contingent of Scottish and Irish-based Hibernian supporters, together with locals and the wider Limerick community. A long overdue acknowledgement and permanent monument to the Canon in his birthplace, it also cemented connections between the branch, the Ballingarry community and Hibernian FC. Connections that remain firmly in place with representatives from Ballingarry and Hibernian FC being invited to the branches’ St Patrick’s night.

Today’s American-owned football club and a corporate culture that can sometimes seem jarring to certain fans, may seem far removed from the Hibernian of Canon Hannan, Michael Whelehan and the isolated, immigrant community of ‘Little Ireland.’ However, there’s a continuous thread that runs from 1875 to 2025. One that’s evidenced in the name, colours and harp on the crest that speak to the club’s origins, in a style of football that’s been synonymous with all Hibs most successful teams, and in the supporters’ appreciation of the struggles and sacrifices made by those Cowgate originals who gave them the Hibernian Football Club they know and love today.

The St Patrick’s event is just the latest instalment in a series of branch projects that have brought the past and present together. St Patrick’s has only been in existence for a relatively short period of time but has already made a big impact in preserving and promoting Hibernian’s unique history and place in Scottish football.