The daughter of the late Dinky McFarlane has paid tribute to her football loving father, a very popular "character" who was known for his humorous nature.

Noel Charles Desmond 'Dinky' McFarlane, 79, late of Abbey Drive, Enniskillen passed away peacefully at the South West Acute Hospital on September 15, 2021 following complications resulting from his battle with Covid-19.

Describing her father as a "very humorous" and "quirky wee man", Dawn McVitty added: "He knew everybody and he was a bit of a character, everybody would tell you that."

Born in Lisnaskea, Dinky grew up in Ballinamallard before moving to Enniskillen.

He later married the love of his life Ann, who was from Fivemiletown. They went on to have two children, Dawn and Trevor.

The couple celebrated 46 years of marriage before Ann sadly passed away eight years ago.

"They were together a long time," said Dawn.

Family was very important to Dinky.

"He was very fond of his family and he was a great parent. He was always there for you when you needed him," said Dawn, recalling how as a family they would have holidayed a lot together: "We would've gone to Malta a lot. He loved that as his brother used to live out there.

"So myself and [my husband] John had been out there quite a few times with him.

"We've always been quite close-knit. He would've came out for dinner to me," she added.

Dinky was very passionate about football and played for Enniskillen Rangers in his day.

"He was massively known for football, Enniskillen Rangers. He played football all over the place and he supported Tottenham Hotspur all of his life.

"It was all about football with him," said Dawn, noting how he shared this love of football with his whole family.

"We are all football mad," she added with a laugh.

Aside from his football commitments, Dinky was a member of the Royal British Legion.

Dinky was a "lifer" with The Impartial Reporter, working in the newspaper's printworks from the age of 14.

"He was there for 44 years," said Dawn, explaining that her father would have seen the progression from manual type setting to the introduction of computers over his time at the newspaper.

At the end of August, Dinky tested positive for Covid-19 and was taken into hospital on September 1. Sadly he passed away two weeks later.

"He had been getting a lot better," said Dawn, talking about the shock of her father's sudden passing.

"He would've been 80 in December so at that age you're going to have underlying health issues, he was a diabetic, he had a few wee issues but I think that was the cruel bit, he had been getting so much better and he was due to get out that weekend but then he deteriorated badly on the Wednesday morning that he died.

"He passed away very suddenly. Covid I think was just too much for his heart," said his heartbroken daughter.

Arranged by WT Morrison Funeral Directors, Dinky's funeral service took place at St. Macartin's Cathedral and was led by Dean Kenneth Hall. During the service, a special tribute was given by Denzil McDaniel, former editor of The Impartial Reporter and a cousin of Dinky's.

"Denzil's tribute was gorgeous, they were first cousins so they were very close. For years and years they would've played [football] together," said Dawn, adding that there were also some lovely tributes to her father on the Enniskillen Rangers Facebook page.

"It was just nice to read it all because you couldn't see a lot of these people, it helped actually," she said.

Ahead of the service, as Dinky's funeral cortège travelled through Enniskillen town centre towards the church, it made various stops along the way, pausing outside The Impartial Reporter offices and the Corner Bar where mourners stood out to show their respects. Enniskillen Rangers players, past and present, formed a guard of honour outside the church as the club stalwart made his final journey.

"It was just lovely. With the Covid restrictions it did mean that the house was quite empty. Under normal circumstances I think we would have had a lot of visitors," said Dawn.

"The British Legion were there as well, they put poppies on him at the graveside," she added.

Beloved husband of the late Ann, dearly loved father of Dawn (John), Trevor (Charlene) devoted grandfather of Jamie and Nicole, great grandfather to Kai and dear brother to Kim, Norma, Alastair and the late Tom, Dinky is lovingly remembered by his family and all the family circle.

‘A real character who made you smile’

A tribute to Dinky was given at his funeral in St. Macartin’s Cathedral by his cousin, Denzil McDaniel, who described him as “one of those characters who just had that bright and breezy presence that made you smile when you think of him.”

Among the anecdotes he told about Dinky were those about his career at the Impartial Reporter and his trophy winning days playing for Enniskillen Rangers.

Recalling that the Impartial owner in the mid-50s, Egbert Trimble gave Dinky a trial period of employment at age 14 to see how he did, Denzil went on: “He must’ve done Ok, because his career in the Impartial lasted 43 years. Everyone discovered that a man small in stature was a big character with an infectious sense of humour.”

He also recalled stories of family memories going back to when the of Dinky go away back further to Westville Terrace where the McFarlanes lived and Dinky played for Enniskillen Rangers alongside his brothers Tom and Allister.

“Dinky was a special player, with a great left peg and a natural gift for scoring goals and he played in some very special Rangers teams,” said Denzil, who remembered matches at the Broadmeadow and the Coffey Cup in particular.

“After playing, Dinky became a referee. People said that he was bound to be a good ref because he spent a lot of time as a player telling them how to do their job,” joked Denzil, who said that Dinky’s passion for football never dimmed, particularly in his support of Tottenham Hotspur.

“The reaction to Dinky’s passing has been incredible, people from so many walks of life, all ages and all sections of the community expressing fondness for a likeable man and there were certain phrases that kept reoccurring; a character, a wee gent, great crack, he had time for everyone,” added Denzil.

“He was the sort of happy go lucky person that everybody loved. He will be missed but never forgotten,” concluded Denzil.