Charlie McEleny

Charlie McEleny

Personal information
Full name	Charles Richard McEleny
Date of birth	3 March 1873(1873-03-03)
Place of birth	Raymoghy, County Donegal, Ireland
Date of death	1 August 1908(1908-08-01) (aged 35)
Playing position	Centre half
Youth career
–	Greenock Volunteers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
–	Abercorn
1893–1895	Celtic
1895–1896	Burnley	15	(1)
1896–1898	Celtic
1898–1899	New Brighton Tower	31	(0)
1899–1900	Aston Villa	1	(0)
1900–1901	Swindon Town	29	(1)
–	Brentford
–	Greenock Morton
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Charles Richard "Charlie" McEleny (3 March 1873 – 1 August 1908) was an Irish professional footballer who mostly played as a centre half.

Football career

Born in Raymoghy, County Donegal, McEleny moved to Glasgow where he first played for Greenock Volunteers before joining Abercorn.^[1] He signed for Celtic in November 1893 and played his first match on 4 November in a 3–1 league victory against Dundee at Parkhead. McEleny was a strong and powerful centre half and established himself as a first team regular.^[2] Charlie was the first ever Irish player to play for Glasgow Celtic.^[3]

In November 1895 he signed for English side Burnley where he made fifteen Football League appearances, before returning to Celtic in May 1896. Playing only a year he moved south again to play for New Brighton Tower.^[1] In his two spells at Celtic, McEleny played 34 games and scored once.^[2]

In May 1899, McEleny signed for Aston Villa where he played as a midfielder in his solitary first team appearance before leaving Villa in May 1900.^[4]

He then joined Swindon Town of the Southern League where he made a total of 48 appearances, scoring twice.^[5] He then had a spell at Brentford before returning to Scotland with Greenock Morton.^[1]

Later career and death

On quitting football he worked as a painter/decorator.^[2]

McEleny died on 1 August 1908 aged 35 at Smithston Poorhouse and Asylum, Greenock.^[2][6]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888-1939. p. 167. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "McEleny, Charles". Celtic player biographies. thecelticwiki. http://www.thecelticwiki.com/page/McEleny%2C+Charles. Retrieved 1 September 2010. 
3. ^ http://www.soccer-ireland.com/glasgow-celtic/irish-players/index.htm
4. ^ "Charlie McEleny". Aston Villa player database. http://astonvillaplayerdatabase.com/843.html. Retrieved 2 September 2010. 
5. ^ "Charlie McEleny profile". Swindon Town FC. http://www.swindon-town-fc.co.uk/Person.asp?PersonID=MCELENYC. Retrieved 2 September 2010. 
6. ^ "Births, Marriages and Deaths Index: Macdonald to McEvoy" (PDF). Watt Library, Greenock. pp. 102–103. http://www.inverclyde.gov.uk/GetAsset.aspx?id=fAAzADQAMgA4AHwAfABGAGEAbABzAGUAfAB8ADAAfAA1. Retrieved 2 September 2010. 

Persondata
Name	Maceleny, Charlie
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	3 March 1873
Place of birth	Raymoghy, County Donegal, Ireland
Date of death	1 August 1908
Place of death