School football teams from across Belfast gathered on Friday for a tournament in memory of 18-year-old Fionntán McGarvey, who died several weeks after being assaulted in late December, 2021.
The Sunflower Cup at Rathmore Grammar in Dunmurry is one of a series of events to honour the teenager and raise awareness of organ donation.
A former Rathmore pupil, Fionntán's kidneys were donated leading to transplants for two individuals. The 'We Are Donors' Fionntán Branch was established at Queen's University.
At Queen's on Saturday, leading figures will deliver talks on organ donation in an event organised by the branch. Among the planned speakers are Dr Dominic Trainor, a Royal Victoria Hospital consultant, and Máirtín Mac Gabhann, father of Dáithí.
Fionntán, an first year engineering student at Queen's, was a key player when he played for the school but also lined out for St Brigid’s GAC and local soccer club Aquinas FC. The Year 11 competition was organised in partnership with ‘We Are Donors’ and Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service [NIBTS].
“Fionntán was a fine footballer and I was lucky to have him in our team for a couple of years. This is the first year of the tournament and we hope to see go from strength to strength because it’s a tangible way of keeping Fionntán at the forefront of our minds," said Rathmore teacher and former Antrim footballer Gearoid Adams.
The young man died in January, 2022, following the assault on Finaghy Road North. No-one has been charged in connection with his death.
