
A Professional Priestley A photograph of T. Priestley and the Ireland team, pictured front, second from right. Source of photograph: Irish Football Association and John Duffy. Searching online for distant family members, I came across the son of my great great grand uncle who played football for Ireland. Having previously written about my father-in-law's connection to Robert Leckie of Scotland fame in my From Killearn to the Scottish Cup Final blog, it came as a surprise to find a footballer in my own family, namely a Tommy Priestly or Priestley. Tommy's father was a Thomas Dickie Priestley, who was the brother of my great great grandfather James Priestley. Thomas Dickie's Scottish birth certificate shows he was born in 1874 in Glasgow, the son of parents from County Antrim in what is now Northern Ireland as previously mentioned in A Maryhill Highlander . Thomas Dickie had five siblings with three dying before the age of three years old. Looking at the death cert...