Patrick (aka Pat, Patsy, Paddy) J. Flynn was an accomplished Irish American athlete, an Olympic silver medalist and a war veteran. Family and early life Patrick J. Flynn was born on 17 December 1894 in County Cork, Ireland. He was the eldest child of farmers Patrick and Ellen Flynn, and had three brothers and one sister. According to the 1901 census the Flynn family were living in Knocknagappul but they had moved to Cloghane in Kildara, Ballinadee by 1911. In his early years Flynn showed enormous talent under the tutelage of local athlete Bob Hales, and began competing in athletics in 1912. The following year was an eventful one for 19-year-old Flynn. That May he became an Irish champion after winning the Irish Four Mile Championship, and he represented Ireland in an international championship against Scotland in July. His success in the Four Mile category helped Ireland secure the championship title that year. Emigration to the USA In the autumn of 1913 Flynn emigrated to America from Queenstown (Cobh) in Cork. In New York City he soon found work as a shipping clerk and unsurprisingly began competing in athletics. In 1916 he joined the Paulist Athletic Club, which is a member of the Irish American Athletic Club. It was during this time that he came up against Olympic Champion Hans Kolehmainen in the 5,000 metres where he was beaten by less than a yard. This race, despite Flynn's defeat, is noteworthy as the winning time was to set a new world record of 14:33:6. During the next two years Flynn raced for the Irish American AC against the best in America, and was unbeaten. If not for the intervention of World War One, he would have certainly been selected to represent the USA in the 1916 Olympic Games, which would have taken place in Berlin. World War I Following the outbreak of the war, Flynn shelved his dreams of an Olympic medal and enlisted in the 165th Infantry Regiment in the spring of 1916; he would become a Sergeant. In July 1918 whilst fighting the Germans in France he was shot in his left arm during an act of heroism: When news of Flynn's injury made it back to the US, The New York Times published a short article about him. That August, he was awarded a Purple Heart for his bravery. The Great War ended in November 1918 and