Football loses star Farrell, Ireland loses hero

According to football lore, the goalkeeping position is the loneliest place on the pitch. Maybe Joseph Farrell, Ireland’s No 1 at the recent Homeless World Cup, knew about it.

The 43-year-old died last week at the flat where he was living in Dublin. It is understood he may have been wearing his international goalkeeper jersey when he passed away; he was certainly wearing his team outfit when he was laid to rest at his funeral on Wednesday, with an international cap placed on his coffin at the service in Glasnevin, as friends and family paid tribute to an extraordinary life.

When he played in the Irish Homeless World Cup team at last summer’s event in Poznan, he was one of the stars, claiming the man of the match award in Ireland’s first game and featuring prominently in a campaign in which Ireland finished a commendable 11th out of 48 countries. In so doing, he became the oldest keeper to represent any team at the Homeless World Cup.