Northern Ireland

Former Cliftonville manager Tommy Breslin funeral cortège to pause at club's north Belfast ground after service

The funeral cortège of former Cliftonville manager Tommy Breslin will pause at the club's north Belfast ground after the service. Picture by Mark Marlow/Pacemaker Press
The funeral cortège of former Cliftonville manager Tommy Breslin will pause at the club's north Belfast ground after the service. Picture by Mark Marlow/Pacemaker Press The funeral cortège of former Cliftonville manager Tommy Breslin will pause at the club's north Belfast ground after the service. Picture by Mark Marlow/Pacemaker Press

THE funeral cortège of former Cliftonville manager Tommy Breslin will pause at the club's north Belfast ground after the service.

Requiem Mass will be celebrated at 11am in St Gerard's Church on Antrim Road on Tuesday after his body was flown home this week from Spain.

The 58-year-old died suddenly on August 7 during a holiday.

His family have asked for donations in lieu of flowers to be made to the Northern Ireland Chest, Heart and Stroke Association.

His remains will be reposing in his sister's Wood Grange home in Jordanstown from noon today.

As the coffin is taken from the church to Roselawn Cemetery on the outskirts of east Belfast for burial, it will "make a commemorative stop in tribute at Solitude", the home of Cliftonville FC on the Cliftonville Road.

Mr Breslin led Cliftonville FC to eight trophies in four seasons while in charge.

His spectacular trophy tally included back-to-back Irish league titles in 2013 and 2014 before he stepped down in 2015.

He returned less than two years later when Gerard Lyttle resigned, taking charge in April 2017 for the remainder of the season.