Never to be forgotten! - The night Mark created history

This week marked nine years since Derry City lost its top scorer and a genuine club legend in Mark Farren.

The Greencastle man’s legacy at the Brandywell, and even beyond, is untouched, with those fortunate enough to know him and play alongside him unanimous in their belief that he was an even better person than player.

Of all the memories he left the fans with, arguably his best was the night he broke Liam Coyle’s long-standing goal record, by scoring a hat trick against Mervue United in the FAI Cup. The achievement was even more special considering that he had come back from retirement to do so, having taken time away from the game to deal with illness.

To come back and achieve such a feat speaks of the courage, the determination and the courage of the man who we all remember so fondly.

September 15, 2012

Derry City were huge favourites against their First Division opponents, despite their poor league form, and they blew the minnows away with some devastating attacking football.

It was not the biggest stage, nor was it the strongest opponent, but Friday, September 14 was a significant night in the history of Derry City Football Club, and in Mark Farren’s life.

The hosts were already 1-0 up on 35 minutes when Simon Madden crossed from the right and Mark controlled the ball with his right foot before sliding it past Conor Gleeson and into the net. The game was over as a contest by the hour mark with City 4-1 to the good, and even though Patrick McEleney scored an incredible goal from the halfway line, the best was still to come.

Mark, coming back from an offside position, couldn’t believe his luck when a defender attempted to pass the ball back to his goalkeeper, completely unaware that there was someone behind him. The ball went right to Mark’s feet, and, with Liam Coyle looking on from the stands, and Terri’s heart in her throat, he calmy side-footed the ball left-footed into the net to equal the record of 112 goals.

Mark Farren broke Derry City’s League of Ireland scoring record against Mervue United in 2012. (Photo: Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile)

There was very little time to savour that momentous achievement as just 60 seconds later Derry City broke forward again. Barry McNamee won the ball in his own half and played in forward to David McDaid who turned and played the ball in behind the Mervue defence for Mark to run onto. With goalkeeper Gleeson backtracking in a panic, Mark gave him no tome to settle and drove the ball left-footed past him and into the net to complete his hat trick and to put himself clear and on his own as Derry City’s greatest League of Ireland goal scorer on 113 goals.

The Brandywell fans rose to their feet in recognition of the achievement, and he was surrounded by his team mates, who all rushed to congratulate him, one of whom was Barry Molloy, who had watched Mark overcome all kinds of obstacles to get to this moment.

“The lads were all buzzing, given what Mark had been through,” he says. “He actually missed a chance beforehand which was probably easier to score, but then he took his next chance and he had the record. It was an unbelievable achievement and you couldn’t have wished it for a better person. It’s unbelievable that he has it.

“His motivation was always coming in and doing his best and doing his family proud. There were no massive celebrations from him, he was probably thinking ‘how many more can I get?’. That’s what made Mark so special. That’s the difference between players who are happy enough to be mediocre and those to want to be the best and I think for three or four years, he was the top, top striker in Ireland.”

Mark scored 113 goals for Derry City. (Photo: David Maher/Sportsfile)

Mark was given a standing ovation when he was substituted for Kevin Deery on 77 minutes at the end of a very special night for himself, his wife, his family, his friends, and those team mates who had been on the journey with him for years.

“I went to the match that night and it was great to see him breaking it,” Eddie McCallion says. “People will never forget Liam, and everyone regards him as the best who ever played for Derry, so to surpass Liam is a testament to Mark. It was not an easy feat and I’m sure that Liam didn’t mind that it went to someone like Mark.”

For Ruaidhri Higgins, it was no less than what Mark had deserved.

“I was in the stands watching,” he recalls. “He needed two goals and he got the hat trick. It didn’t surprise me because he started the game really well and just blew them away. I went down to the changing room afterwards and everyone was full of congratulations; it was a big moment for him and his family. It’s an unbelievable achievement to break that record.

“The thing about Mark was that he scored in cup finals, he scored on final days of the season, he always scored in big games and big moments and always scored against the top teams as well. You get lads who score lots of goals but they punish the lesser teams, whereas Mark scored a lot of big goals in big games and when you do that you are a hell of a player.

“When I signed for Bohemians, the likes of Jason McGuinness and Brian Shelley and Owen Heary always commented on how much they hated playing against Mark Farren. These are top players; sometimes you can take your own team mates and players for granted, but that coming from opposition players who have won the lot, and for other players who constantly talk about Mark Farren, highlights how good he was.”

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For Mark’s family, the achievement meant so much. Having watched their son suffer through some dark days, seeing him now with the most significant match ball of his career lifted their hearts.

Mark Farren and Stephen Kenny had a close relationship. (Photo: David Maher/Sportsfile)

“For us, when you think of all the great players at Derry, the fact that Mark done it is great,” dad Michael says. “He went about it silently. He always wanted to please the fans and score goals. He was never into publicity but he loved to please people. He was so proud when I was there.

“The one thing that Mark never had was a big head. I saw him coming out of the club there in the evening after scoring a hat trick but you would never know he scored a hat trick but even if I said ‘you had a good match Mark’ and he had missed a couple of chances his head would have been down.

“I’ll always have time for the Derry City supporters because of the way they looked after Mark and the way they acknowledged what he did for the club. I won’t forget that.”