Darren Murphy extends thanks for 'warmth' shown after father's death

Darren Murphy, the Finn Harps manager, has told of how he was touched by the 'warmth' shown to him following the death of his father, Bertie, last weekend.

Late of Selshion Parade in Portadown, Bertie died at Sandringham Nursing Home and was laid to rest on Wednesday following a funeral service at St. Paul’s Church, Tartaraghan.

Murphy was back in the Harps dugout on Friday to see his side defeat Longford Town 1-0. On an emotional night, the game was preceded by a minute's silence in memory of his father, a former centre-back with Dungannon Swifts.

“Even saying thank you is not enough,” the Harps manager told Donegal Live. “The warmth that I have felt from the people in Donegal has been outstanding. The people here are brilliant.

“When I go back to the Irish League to work on the radio, people always ask how things are in Donegal and I tell them every week about how good the people are.

“The last week has affirmed that and rubber stamped it. The people here are magnificent. It has been quite strange for me in that I spent a lot of time at a lot of clubs and I have only been here at Finn Harps for two years. The way that people have been has been fantastic and it's very difficult to just say thank you.

“The last week has been overwhelming with the amount of people who have taken time to call to the house, come to the funeral or simply to message. That's not just me, but it has meant a lot to Sandra and the boys, Sam and Harry, too.