References
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Biography | UK | VIEW SOURCE |
Brother Walfrid was born Andrew Kearns on the 18th of May 1840 in Ballymote, County Sligo.
Brother Walfrid trained as a teacher and in 1864 became a member of The Marist Brothers Teaching Order. In 1870 he left Ireland for Scotland where he taught in a number of different schools. He also held headmaster positions. As a teacher, his focus was on improving the literacy of the children in poverty stricken areas. He also set up a system where children could get a meal for a penny. Thereby ensuring that even the poorest child had access to a hot meal.
In 1888, he founded the Celtic Football Club at a meeting in St Mary's Hall in Calton, Glasgow. The reasoning behind this was to raise much needed funds for the Catholics of Glasgow who were living in terrible poverty. Brother Wilfrid saw the rising popularity of football as an opportunity to earn money to help the poor.
In 1893 his order relocated him to London so that he could replicate the changes that he had made in Glasgow. There he continued his charitable works, particularly focusing on deprived Catholic areas. There he set up a charity called The Poor Children's Dinner Table.
Brother Wilfrid died on the 17th of April 1915. He is buried in the Mount St Michael Cemetery in Dumfries, Scotland.
| Additional Information | ||
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| Date of Birth | 18th May 1840 | VIEW SOURCE |
| Date of Death | 17th Apr 1915 | VIEW SOURCE |
