A FORMER Belfast Celtic player has been fondly remembered as a family man with a "lifelong passion for sport".
Jimmy Donnelly died aged 87 on Thursday night following a long battle with cancer.
Signed by Belfast Celtic in their last season in football in 1949, Mr Donnelly later became a founding member of the Belfast Celtic Society that would help chart the club's illustrious history.
Mr Donnelly was also a well-known accountant and had his own practice on Fitzwilliam Street near Queen's University.
The grandfather-of-nine was president of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland in 1984 and 1985.
His son-in-law Jim Flanagan last night told how Mr Donnelly was also an Antrim hurler who played in two All-Ireland semi-finals at Croke Park.
Paying tribute on behalf of the family, he said: "He was a great family man but also a great raconteur and he loved a singsong. He had a lifelong passion for sport and the GAA in particular.
"He was a man who was very convivial, enjoyed company and was an extremely intelligent and knowledgeable man in the sports world.
"His great love was GAA but he also had a love of football and boxing as well."
Mr Donnelly is survived by his daughters Colette and Joanne, and sons Jimmy and Gerard.
Requiem Mass will be celebrated on Monday at 11.30am at St Therese of Lisieux Church on Somerton Road, Belfast, with burial afterwards at Sacred Heart Church, Cargin, Toomebridge.
