Derry City fans honour 'Squeezer'

Derry City fans have made the 600-mile round trip to Cork to say their goodbyes to Theresa ‘Squeezer’ O’Donovan.

The Cork City fan passed away earlier his week following a lengthy battle with cancer, with her loss keenly felt by the many friends she made here on her countless trips to the Brandywell over the years.

A contingent of seven Candy Stripes fans travelled south to pay their respects at Theresa’s funeral with Hugh Curran insisting it was the least they could do to pay their respects.

He said: “Theresa used to come up here for the games and she just fell in with us.

“They never missed a game up in Derry. She would come up every year for the past 15 years and even when there wasn’t a game she would come up to spend the weekend. We became very close with her.”

The attendance of the Derry City fans was a pleasant surprise for the O’Donovan family, who acknowledged their presence by inviting them to help honour Theresa one last time.

Hugh explained: “The final lift of the coffin was Derry City supporters which the family had requested.

“You wouldn’t believe how many people came over to us to thank us for coming down.

“We brought a Derry City wreath down from the Brandywell Pride and the gesture was appreciated by everyone.”

Hugh concluded: “We were very well received from her family and Cork City itself, who also had representatives at the funeral.”

Photo shows Theresa (left) with Derry City fan Karen Pyne during a visit to Brandywell.