James McClean will always be a proud Derry man.
With Shane Long ruled out of the Austria match through injury, Irish supporters will be hoping that McClean can prove his fitness ahead of the crunch World Cup qualifier this weekend.
The West Brom winger sat out training at Abbotstown yesterday as Martin O’Neill put his squad through their paces, but the former Derry City man wasn’t going to let injury prevent him from honouring the memory of his friend and former teammate, the iconic Mark Farren.
As many of you will know, Derry City’s all-time top scorer sadly passed away in February of this year with numerous tributes paid to the former Finn Harps, Monaghan United and Glenavon striker. It was at the Brandywell though were Farren truly shone, scoring 114 times in a prolific spell with the club.
To honour Farren’s memory, the Mark Farren Cup was created and the final took place last night as Bohemians U17’s beat St Pat’s 2-0 at Inchicore
Take a look at the tribute that was paid to Farren in the match programme, as tweeted by St Patrick’s Athletic senior captain, Ger O’Brien.
A nice tribute to Mark in the 17s final programme. pic.twitter.com/FLxeRbXBQ4
— Ger O'Brien (@gerramia) November 9, 2016
Goals from Robbie Dunne and Steven Nolan were enough to give Bohs the win, and Farren’s former teammate was on hand to honour his memory in the best way possible by presenting the cup to Bohs captain Stephen Morley.
📷 @FAIreland and former @derrycityfc player James McClean presents @bfcdublin U17 captain Stephen Morley with the Mark Farren Cup! #LOI 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/iXOQIceNpe
— League of Ireland (@LeagueofIreland) November 9, 2016
Congratulations to the #Bohs Under-17s, presented with the Mark Farren Cup by Mark's good friend, James McClean! pic.twitter.com/YlfF2dNU7j
— Bohemian Football Club (@bfcdublin) November 9, 2016
📷 @FAIreland star and former @derrycityfc player James McClean watches on at the Mark Farren Memorial Cup Final. #LOI 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/BeKBTV3RFC
— League of Ireland (@LeagueofIreland) November 9, 2016
McClean was also happy to pose for pictures with those in attendance.
https://twitter.com/Whelo1929/status/796464880949796864
