Francis O'Farrell (9 October 1927 – 6 March 2022) was an Irish football player and manager. He played as a

wing half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Cork United,

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

and Preston North End. He made over 300 appearances in the Football League before joining Weymouth as player-manager. He went on to manage

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

(three stints),

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

, Manchester United, Cardiff City,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and Al-Shaab. He played for the Republic of Ireland national team, making nine appearances between 1952 and 1959.

Early life

Born in Lower Dublin Hill in Blackpool, a suburb of Cork, O'Farrell lived on Friars Road, in the Turners Cross area of the city. His grand-uncle was renowned bowls player John "Buck" McGrath. He was raised a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and attended

Christ the King Christ the King is a title of Jesus in Christianity referring to the idea of the Kingdom of God where the Christ is described as seated at the right hand of God. Many Christian denominations consider the kingly office of Christ to be one of ...

. He played Gaelic football and captained the school team to its first trophy win in 1941. He also played the association code for local teams Nicholas Rovers, Clapton Celtic and at Western Rovers alongside the brother of

Noel Cantwell Noel Euchuria Cornelius Cantwell (28 February 1932 – 8 September 2005) was an Irish footballer player and sometime cricketer. Club career Cantwell was born in Cork, Ireland, and was educated at the Roman Catholic Presentation Brothers College ...

, with whom he would later reunite as a teammate at

. At the age of 16, he started working on the railways and wanted to be a train driver, like his father. He worked as a

fireman A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

on the Dublin–Cork railway line.

Club career

A left half, O'Farrell started his playing career with

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

club Cork United, replacing Tommy Moroney in the first team after his departure to West Ham United in 1947. Playing as a semi-professional, he supplemented his earnings with his work on the railways, earning £3 a week for each. In January 1948, after being spotted by West Ham scout Ben Ives, O'Farrell followed Moroney to the Upton Park club for a fee of £3,000. O'Farrell himself received a £1,000 fee for the transfer. He made over 50 appearances for the reserves before breaking into the first team. His debut came on 28 September 1950 in a 2–0 defeat of

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

in the Essex Professional Cup. His Football League debut followed in November 1950 in a 4–1 defeat away to

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

. He made 18 league appearances in his first season but became a regular in the 1951–52 and 1952–53 seasons. He was one of a number of West Ham players that would meet at Cassettari's Café to discuss tactics. He played for West Ham in seven seasons and made 213 appearances, scoring eight goals. In November 1956, O'Farrell left for Preston North End in a straight swap deal involving Eddie Lewis. Replacing Ray Evans in the team, he scored on his home debut, a 20-yard strike against Manchester City. Playing alongside

Tom Finney Sir Thomas Finney (5 April 1922 – 14 February 2014) was an English international footballer who played from 1946 to 1960 as a winger or centre forward for Preston North End and England. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of the s ...

, he played 17 league matches before his first loss with the club. He would then miss over a month of football after treatment for a nosebleed which caused him to lose around four pints of blood (he experienced a recurrence of the problem in the following season). His first season with Preston brought a third-place finish and he was still with the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

club when they finished runners-up to

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

in Division One at the end of the 1957–58 season. In the same season O'Farrell's former teammates at West Ham finished as Second Division champions, securing their promotion to the First Division, which he had strived to help achieve. In all, O'Farrell made 129 appearances for Preston, scoring four goals. He retired from professional football in 1961, close to 34 years of age, after a second operation to remove cartilage.

International career

O'Farrell won the first of nine full international caps for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in Vienna on 7 May 1952, in a 6–0 defeat. In his next international game, also against Austria, O'Farrell scored the first of his two international goals as Ireland won 4–0 at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known ...

, Dublin. His next game saw his second and last international goal, as Ireland lost 5–3 to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in a qualifying game for the 1954 World Cup. He played infrequently over the next six years before making his ninth and last international appearance on 10 May 1959 in a 4–0 defeat by

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

at Tehelne Pole Stadion in Bratislava.

Managerial career

Weymouth and Torquay United

On 20 June 1961, O'Farrell became

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

at Southern League team Weymouth. He was paid £25 a week for the role, which was £5 more than he had been earning as a Football League player at Preston. In 1961–62, he oversaw Weymouth's passage to the fourth round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, where they were beaten by his old club Preston North End. After a runners-up spot in 1963–64, he led the club to their first Southern League championship in 1964–65, also reaching the final of the Southern League Cup that season. In May 1965, he became manager of

, replacing Eric Webber. He took the Gulls to promotion in his first season in charge and followed this with seventh- and fourth-place finishes in the Third Division in the following two seasons. While Torquay manager he returned to West Ham to sign a number of players, including John Bond, Ken Brown and Bill Kitchener.

Leicester City

In December 1968, O'Farrell took over

. He appointed former West Ham teammate

Malcolm Musgrove Malcolm Clarke Musgrove (8 July 1933 − 14 September 2007) was an English football player and manager. Musgrove played for his local side, Lynemouth Colliery, before being called up for national service, which he served in the Royal Air Force ...

as his assistant. Leicester were near the bottom of the First Division table when he was appointed and were relegated at the end of the season, but O'Farrell led them to the 1969 FA Cup Final, which they lost 1–0 to Manchester City. The following season brought a third-place finish, and 1970–71 saw the club win the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

and return to the top tier.

Manchester United

On 1 July 1971, he took over at Manchester United, having been confirmed in the role on 8 June 1971. He replaced Matt Busby, who had selected him for the role, signing a five-year contract worth £15,000 a year. Musgrove was again his assistant. His arrival came just three years after United had won the European Cup, but the side had posted eighth-place finishes in the First Division in the previous two seasons before O'Farrell's arrival. O'Farrell's tenure started well, with

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...

, Denis Law and

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest p ...

playing well and the club, 10 points clear at one stage, losing just one of their first 14 league games. O'Farrell was named Manager of the Month for September and the club topped the table for the first time in three years in October. After being top of the league at Christmas, Best failed to attend training throughout January and United scored only three goals in their first eight games of the year, losing the first seven. O'Farrell's impersonal approach whereby every player had to schedule an appointment to see him, did not help morale. O'Farrell signed

Martin Buchan Martin McLean Buchan (born 6 March 1949) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Born in Aberdeen, he played for Aberdeen, Manchester United and Oldham Athletic. He also played in 34 international matches for Sc ...

for a club-record fee of £125,000, as well as Ian Storey-Moore, who scored in all of United's five league wins in the second half of the season. Once again, United ended the season in eighth place. Further problems with Best led to a two-week suspension for the player and he continued to miss training sessions during the 1972–73 season. Forwards Wyn Davies and

Ted MacDougall Edward John MacDougall (born 8 January 1947 in Inverness) is a Scottish former footballer. MacDougall was a prolific goalscorer who played for eight teams, scoring 256 goals in 535 League appearances and winning seven full international caps fo ...

were signed in September 1972, bringing O'Farrell's spending in the previous six months to £500,000. On 6 December, it was announced that Best would be transfer listed. On 16 December, United lost 5–0 to

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

, with Don Rogers scoring twice, and three days after the match, with the club third-from-bottom in the league, O'Farrell was sacked after 18 months in the role. He was replaced at Old Trafford by

Tommy Docherty Thomas Henderson Docherty (24 April 1928 – 31 December 2020), commonly known as The Doc, was a Scottish football player and manager. Docherty played for several clubs, most notably Preston North End, and represented Scotland 25 times betw ...

. O'Farrell as the only Irish manager in Manchester United's history. His sacking resulted in O'Farrell suing the club over unpaid wages and he was forced to sign on at the local

labour exchange An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly-funded employment agency. Public employment agencies One ...

while the dispute was settled. The club ultimately settled out-of-court and O'Farrell received "about £17,000".

Cardiff and Iran

He became manager of Cardiff City in November 1973, but in April 1974 quit to take the manager's post with the Iranian national team. He began his tenure with seven consecutive wins, leading them to the gold medal at the 1974 Asian Games and qualification for the Montreal Olympics. In January 2006, O'Farrell was invited to Iran to attend a ceremony in honour of

Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

' former players, along with Alan Rogers.

Returns to Torquay, and Al-Shaab

On 29 November 1976, O'Farrell returned to Torquay United as manager, replacing Malcolm Musgrove. He remained with the club as consultant manager when Mike Green was appointed player-manager in March 1977. In 1980, he joined United Arab Emirati club Al-Shaab. He became Torquay manager again when Green left the club in May 1981, but once again relinquished the position the following year, this time in July 1982 on the appointment of

Bruce Rioch Bruce David Rioch (; born 6 September 1947) is a football manager and former player for the Scotland national team. His last managerial post was at AaB in the Danish Superliga in 2008. As a player, he made more than 550 appearances in the Fo ...

. He worked as general manager until his retirement in 1983, aged 55.

Personal life

After his retirement, O'Farrell continued to live in Torquay. In 1993, he worked as a scout for Everton and Bolton Wanderers. In later life, he ran a nursing home in Devon with his wife, Ann. He had been active in church affairs and presided over the local Conference of the

Society of Saint Vincent de Paul The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor. Innumerable Catholic parishes have ...

. In 2011, his autobiography ''All Change at Old Trafford'' was published. In 2018 he lived in Devon, and cared for his wife. O'Farrell died on 6 March 2022, at the age of 94. At the time of his death he was the oldest living former West Ham United player.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Republic of Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each O'Farrell goal.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager

Weymouth * Southern League: 1964–65 Torquay United * Fourth Division: 1965–66 Leicester City *

: 1970–71 Cardiff City *

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...

: 1974 Iran * Asia Games: 1974"Asian Games 1974"
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