The Donegal captain, Michael Murphy, led the tributes to ‘a perfect friend and team-mate’ Pat Shovelin, who died yesterday evening, aged 41.
A native of Ardara, he lost his battle with cholangiocarcinoma, the rare form of cancer he had been fighting since early 2017.
Pat is survived by his wife, Chrissie, and two young boys, Ethan (5) and Tom (22 months).
He was the goalkeeping coach for the Donegal senior football team during Jim McGuinness’s reign as manager.
He was also involved with McGuinness at Under-21 level and this year was the goalkeeping coach for the Donegal Under-21s, who won the Ulster Under-21 title.
The tributes have been pouring in for a man described in a statement by the Donegal County Board as ‘special’ and a ‘genuine soul’.