Mark Farren (1 May 1982 – 3 February 2016) 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 ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for Derry City in his prime.Player Profile – Official Derry City site
Retrieved 23 August 2008

Career

Farren began his football career with a largely unsuccessful period, throughout which he was dogged by injury, in the youth setup at

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

. Following this and a spell at

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

, he returned to his home county to play for

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club is an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. They hail from Ballybofey, County Donegal and play their ho ...

. After only one substitute League appearance in the 2000–01 League of Ireland season and a lack of first-team opportunities Farren moved south to fellow

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division, also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. The division w ...

side

Monaghan United Monaghan United F.C. is an Irish association football club based in Monaghan currently playing in the Monaghan Cavan League. The club joined the League of Ireland in 1983 and subsequently went on to play in the B Division, the First Division an ...

. He became a regular in the Monaghan team and quickly gained a reputation as a promising, pacy striker with much potential. He earned a move to Derry City in 2003 with a free transfer. Farren stayed clear of injury in the 2005 season to produce some magnificent displays. He finished the season as second top scorer with 18 league goals in 31 appearances and 22 goals in all competitions. It was this excellent form that saw him named PFAI Player of the Year. With the signing of Kevin McHugh and the establishment of Gary Beckett as a top forward in League of Ireland football, Farren's starting place was placed under threat for the 2006 season. However, he returned to the form he showed in 2005 and did manage to hold down a regular spot in the team, with an especially strong finish to the season, which helped Derry win the

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 ...

. His efforts also helped keep Derry in the league title race up until the very last day of the season, only to see his club lose the title to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

rivals, Shelbourne, on goal difference. In all, Farren finished the 2006 season with 18 goals to his name. In 2010 Farren was instrumental in Derry gaining promotion from the First Division scoring 20 goals in the season. Farren, who scored in the 1–0 victory in the last game over Monagahan United to give Derry the

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

, may however be forced to put his playing career on hold due to a brain

tumour A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue (biology), tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tiss ...

. He was named in the squad travelling to Sligo to play in a crucial league match at the start of September 2011. Commenting on Farren attempting to surpass Liam Coyle's goal tally, Kenny stated: In August 2012, it was announced that he would be moving to Glenavon in January 2013 after signing a pre-contract agreement. In September 2012 he overtook Liam Coyle as Derry's top scorer with 113 goals. He made his

IFA Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and Irish Premiership colloquially, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northern Ireland Football L ...

debut for Glenavon on 5 January 2013 and scored his first goal at Dungannon Swifts. Farren died of cancer on 3 February 2016. In his honour, Derry City retired the number 18 jersey, which he wore during his time at the club.

Honours

Club

(2):

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. *

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup, also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', was an annual knockout competition in men's football in Ireland. It was contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited clubs from the lower levels of the Irish footb ...

(5):

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. *

(1):

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Individual

* League of Ireland Premier Division Top Scorer (1):

(16 goals). *

League of Ireland First Division Top Scorer A list of League of Ireland top scorers. A Division ;Notes Premier Division First Division ;Notes All–Time ;Notes References {{League of Ireland Top Ireland Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dial ...

(1):

(18 goals).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farren, Mark 1982 births 2016 deaths Association footballers from County Donegal Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Men's association football forwards Finn Harps F.C. players Monaghan United F.C. players Derry City F.C. players League of Ireland players Glenavon F.C. players NIFL Premiership players Deaths from brain cancer in the Republic of Ireland People from Moville Association football players with retired numbers 21st-century Irish sportsmen