As a history student, I’ve always been interested in the impact Irish people have had around the world. Whether as a large community, building New York into the city it is today, or as individuals, climbing up to prominent positions in foreign armies or political offices, the Irish have left an indelible mark in nations far afield.

This habit of leaving lasting legacies in foreign fields is not exclusive to politics or as navvies. Unsurprisingly, as a nation that loves it so much, sport is another aspect where an Irish influence can be seen abroad, not just in Manchester or Liverpool, but places on the other side of the globe, such as New Zealand or South America.

As such I thought this would make for an interesting series of posts; Irish people that have achieved lasting sporting legacies in foreign nations.

Today’s post will focus on Patrick McCarthy, who aided in the foundation of one of South America’s largest and most famous football clubs.

Patrick “Paddy” McCarthy

Boca Juniors are not just one of Argentina’s most successful club sides, they are also one of the most successful in the world. Boca have been Argentinian domestic champions 30 times and have won 11 national cups. On top of that they have won the Copa Libertadores, South America’s version of the Champions League, six times. With 18 FIFA-recognised international club titles, Boca are level with such European giants as Real Madrid and A.C. Milan.

The club was formed on 3 April 1905 in the La Boca district of Buenos Aires by a group of young Italian men, who hailed from Genoa. The group of friends met at the house of Esteban Baglietto with the purpose of founding a football club. Among the others in attendance were Alfredo Scarpatti and Santiago Sana.

While all this is well and good, what connection do any of these gentlemen have with Ireland? Well, Baglietto, Sana and Scarpatti all received football lessons from Patrick “Paddy” McCarthy, an Irish immigrant living and working in Buenos Aires.

Paddy McCarthy was born in Cashel, Co. Tipperary on 17 Match 1871. A keen footballer and boxer as a boy, McCarthy emigrated to Buenos Aires in 1900, where he became a teacher of English and, unsurprisingly, P.E.

McCarthy was appointed a member of the sports municipal committee in Buenos Aires. McCarthy taught football at Lobos Athletic Club, a football club established in 1892 for the rural area of the city by Irish-Argentinians. It was here that McCarthy more than likely gave football lessons to the boys that would go on to establish Boca Juniors.

McCarthy’s talents were not just confined to football. As previously mentioned, McCarthy was a keen boxer in his youth; a love he maintained even after leaving Ireland. Before becoming a coach, McCarthy is purported to have participated in the first-ever professional boxing match in Argentina in 1903 against an Abelardo Robassio. Even more remarkable is the fact that boxing was illegal in the county at that time.

It is often falsely claimed that McCarthy was the sole founder of Boca Juniors, rather than the young Italian-Argentine friends. One facet that lends weight to this myth is the style of Boca’s jerseys, which resemble the modern Tipperary GAA shirt. In 1900, when McCarthy emigrated, Tipperary wore a white shirt with green trimmings. Therefore McCarthy could not have influenced Boca’s now famous blue and gold home shirts.

After his stint with Lobos AC, McCarthy joined Club Atlético Estudiantes in a player/coach capacity. As well as coaching at various clubs during his prime, McCarthy spent 18 years as a referee for the Argentine Association Football League.

When McCarthy arrived in Argentina in 1900, football and boxing were athletic pursuits pursued solely by male members of Buenos Aires’s upper classes as pastimes. Although not exclusively because of him, McCarthy’s work with children from the poorer areas of the city helped the game’s popularity thrive among the lower-class communities. By the 1920s, football was part of the curriculum in most public schools and by 1930, Argentina’s national side would be contesting the inaugural World Cup final.

McCarthy retired from his role with the municipal committee in 1943. He lived for another two decades, dying on 10 August 1963 at Buenos Aires’s British Hospital. He was buried in the Cementerio de la Chacarita, Argentina’s largest cemetery.