O'Connell, Patrick Joseph (‘Con’) (1887–1959), soccer player and manager, was born 8 March 1887 in Drumcondra, Dublin, son of Patrick O'Connell, foreman, and Elizabeth O'Connell (née Fox) of Clonliffe Road, Dublin. Little is known of his early years, but while playing for Strandhill Juniors and working at Boland's Mills in Dublin he was signed by Belfast Celtic in August 1908, the first steps in an extraordinary and controversial career. The English first-division side Sheffield Wednesday signed him in April 1909 and he made his league debut in the last match of the 1908/9 season against Bury. It was at Wednesday that he won the first of his five international caps for Ireland. He spent three seasons at the club without ever securing a regular place and eventually moved to second-division Hull City in May 1912 after making just twenty-one appearances. While at Hull he played in all three of Ireland's home championship matches in 1914, when they won the championship outright for the first of only two occasions in the history of the now-defunct competition. He played sixty-three games for Hull before Manchester United signed him for the sum (not inconsiderable at the time) of £1,000 in May 1914. Despite his being appointed captain, the first world war restricted his appearances for the club to just thirty-five games, but he did play for Clapton Orient, Rochdale, and Chesterfield during the war years.
In August 1919 he moved to Dumbarton in Scotland and subsequently to Ashington in the English third division (north) in July 1920, becoming player-manager of the club from May 1921 until he suddenly disappeared in June 1922, leaving a wife and young family behind him. He subsequently turned up in Spain, where he embarked on a coaching career, initially with Racing Santander (1922–9) and subsequently with Athletico Madrid (1929–34). He then took over at Real Betis of Seville, where he coached them to their one and only Spanish league title in 1934/5, and Barcelona, where he was appointed coach in 1935. Barcelona had a long tradition of appointing coaches with experience of the British game. During his time in charge of Barcelona the Spanish league was suspended because of the civil war, and O'Connell took the club on a lucrative tour of Mexico and North America in 1937. The tour earnings helped to regenerate the club after the war, although by this stage O'Connell had been replaced as coach by Josep Planas. O'Connell returned to Real Betis in 1939 and later managed their city rivals Sevilla, finishing third in the league in the 1943/4 season. He was replaced as coach of Sevilla during the 1944/5 season and returned to Racing Santander, leading them back from the third to the second division in 1947. From 1947 to 1958 O'Connell worked as a scout for the Huelva (later known as Recreativo de Guelva) national team on a number of occasions, including a game against Ireland. The informal nature of these arrangements at that time, however, makes it difficult to confirm this.
Possessed of great personal charm and charisma, O'Connell was an intelligent and stylish centre-half in his playing days. At 5 ft 11 in. (1.8 m) and twelve stone (76.2 kg) at his peak, he was a powerful opponent who imposed himself forcefully on games. However, despite his high-profile clubs and appointments, he remains an enigmatic figure. In 1915 he was implicated in a betting scandal while playing for Manchester United, when he missed a penalty in a Good Friday match that was arranged to finish 2–0 to United. He reputedly escaped a suspension because he charmed the adjudication panel. When he left his wife and family in 1922, the first they knew of his whereabouts was when he sent money home from Spain. While in Spain he was associated with the republican movement, as was the Barcelona club, and reputedly escaped execution only because Gen. Franco was a soccer enthusiast. In his later years he moved between Spain and a brother's home in London. He was living in London when he died 27 February 1959.