Eamon Farrell (1942 – 9 April 2025) was an Irish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. A half back, he had a brief tenure with

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

Career

Born in

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home to ...

, Farrell began his footballing career with the underage section at Home Farm. He was also a minor and schoolboy Ireland international. Farrell joined

in 1960 at the age of 18. He was part of their

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

-winning team in 1962, when Rovers beat Shelbourne in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

Personal life and death

Following his retirement as a professional footballer, Farrell ran a number of businesses in Dublin, including restaurants and the Health Matters chain of health food shops. His brother,

Tommy Farrell Tommy Farrell (born Thomas Farrell Richards; October 7, 1921 – May 9, 2004) was an American actor who appeared in over 100 films and TV series between 1944 and 1983. He was best known for his sidekick roles in the B movies (Hollywood Golden ...

, also played with Shamrock Rovers. His son,

Colin Farrell Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A Leading actor, leading man in blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various List of awards and nominations received by Col ...

, is an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-nominated actor. Farrell died after a long illness on 9 April 2025, at the age of 83.

Honours

Shamrock Rovers *

: 1961–62

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Eamon 1942 births 2025 deaths Association footballers from Dublin (city) League of Ireland players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players 20th-century Irish sportsmen