THE IMAGES from Brandywell Stadium on the night of September 14, 2012 remain as vivid now as they were three and a half years ago.
Mark Farren had two spells away from football as he battled with a brain tumor.
In September 2011, in a north-west derby with Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds, the board went up and the number 18 flashed to signal Farren’s re-introduction.
A native of Greencastle, Farren was closing in on Liam Coyle’s record haul of goals for Derry City when he donned the Candystripes again.
September 14, 2012 was the night history was made on the Lone Moor Road when Farren netted a hat-trick against Mervue United in an FAI Cup quarter-final.
With his second goal of the night he drew level with Coyle’s record of 112.
A minute later, Farren got on the end of a Barry McNamee pass for his hat-trick and the barrier fell.
‘One Mark Farren – 113’ proclaimed the scoreboard at the Showgrounds end. That week, he was Goal.com’s ‘World Player of the Week,’ topping a shortlist that included Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Mark Farren’s ferocious fight with his cancer ended this morning when the Inishowen man, at the age of 33, slipped away to his eternal rest.
Family and close friends knew that the end was coming.
“Even when you know it’s coming, it’s still a shock,” Coyle told BBC Radio Foyle this afternoon.
Kevin McHugh had been a colleague of Farren’s when the pair were starting out at Finn Harps. Farren made only one appearance for Harps, as a substitute in a 4-1 defeat to Longford at Flancare Park in the 2000/01 season.
Farren left Harps and joined Monaghan United, but it was at Derry where he made his name as one of the country’s most prolific strikers.
McHugh and Farren had been close previously. McHugh’s brother, Anthony, and first cousin Gary Crossan were alongside Farren on a FÁS course in Sligo and their paths had crossed.
They were team-mates again when McHugh joined Derry City in December 2005.
“I’m not afraid to say that he was really under-valued and under-rated,” McHugh says.
“The main thing that sticks out about Mark Farren … throw-away comments are easy, but in Mark Farren’s case it’s absolutely true, he was a gentleman.
“With us at Derry, it was a case of the Donegal men sticking together. But what a player he was.”
Farren was named as the PFAI Player of the Year in 2005 and won five League Cups and two FAI Cups with Derry.
Farren was initially diagnosed with a Grade 2 brain tumor on Christmas Eve 2008.
During a Setanta Cup game against Cork City at Turner’s Cross in October 2008, suffered concussion after a clash of heads. Undeterred, he was back scoring the winning goal in an away game at Bohemians a few days later.
However, while on holiday in Florida, Terri-Louise began to notice that his speech would, at times, slur.
On their return, he consulted the Derry City team doctor and was sent for a scan at a private clinic in Belfast. Christmas was upon him when the call came.
Initially he played on, hitting 10 goals in the 2009 campaign for Derry, but he sat out the latter part of that season.
He was instrumental in 2010 as Derry – demoted because of financial irregularities – were promoted back to the Premier Division after winning the First Division.
Fittingly, Farren – on a night when he was named captain – scored the winning goal in Gortakeegan as Derry bagged the 1-0 win over Monaghan United that finally popped the champagne corks.
“His record at Derry was just unbelievable,” McHugh says.
“It’s great to see the plaudits now, but that’s annoying in a way because it would have been so much nicer to see when he was alive.
“Anyone knew Mark, knew how much he was under-rated. A lot of top players can do some things very well and are decent at other things, but it was different with Mark.
“He had outstanding pace, finishing and movement. He had them all. He was lethal.”
Farren came back from illness to lead the line for Derry and break Coyle’s record.
“You could make a film about it,” says McHugh. “The way he got Derry promoted, being the captain and breaking the record – all of that was just a mark of how hje loved his football.”
Coyle himself holds legendary status in Derry and beyond. When he calls Farren ‘the ultimate centre forward’ you get a sense of the esteem in which he’s held.
Early in 2015, Farren was diagnosed with a Grade 4 brain tumor – the third time in six years that he had received a brain tumor diagnosis.
Farren, Terri-Louise – who fought every inch of the fight by her husband’s side – and nutritionist Sinead Kelly travelled to Tijuana, Mexico in the summer where Farren had four weeks of intensive treatment.
A fundraising drive helped with a over £45,000 pledged to the Mark Farren Fund.
McHugh rallied for the cause in 2014 when he organized a 5k in aid of his close friend and could see the warmth and affection the public had for Farren.
“I got a sense right away that people were helping and donating not because of his goalscoring – but it was about the person,” McHugh says.
“That was so noticeable. The generosity of people was just unreal. People had never met him face-to-face, but they still knew him.
“We knew he hadn’t been well for a few weeks now, but it’s still a complete and utter shock. He’d been fighting for years and in the latter stages he was fighting dearly.”
Brandywell Stadium is currently undergoing a redevelopment and Coyle believes the new stand should be named in honour of Mark Farren. “It would be fitting,” says Coyle.
Flags at FAI headquarters at Abbotstown are flying at half mast and tributes have poured in from all across the football world.
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