Frank O'Farrell

O'Farrell won the first of nine full international caps for Ireland against Austria in Vienna on 7 May 1952, in a 6–0 defeat. In his next international game, also against Austria, O'Farrell scored the first of his two international goals as Ireland won 4–0 at Dalymount Park, Dublin. His next game saw his second and last international goal, as Ireland lost 5–3 to France in a qualifying game for the 1954 World Cup. He played infrequently over the next six years before making his ninth and last international appearance on 10 May 1959 in a 4–0 defeat by Czechoslovakia at Tehelne Pole Stadion in Bratislava.

A left half, O'Farrell started his playing career with League of Ireland club Cork United, replacing Tommy Moroney in the first team after his departure to West Ham United in 1947. Playing as a semi-professional, he supplemented his earnings with his work on the railways, earning £3 a week for each. In January 1948, after being spotted by West Ham scout Ben Ives, O'Farrell followed Moroney to the Upton Park club for a fee of £3,000. O'Farrell himself received a £1,000 fee for the transfer. He made over 50 appearances for the reserves before breaking into the first team. His debut came on 28 September 1950 in a 2–0 defeat of Colchester United in the Essex Professional Cup. His Football League debut followed in November 1950 in a 4–1 defeat away to Notts County. He made 18 league appearances in his first season but became a regular in the 1951–52 and 1952–53 seasons. He was one of a number of West Ham players that would meet at Cassettari's Café to discuss tactics. He played for West Ham in seven seasons and made 213 appearances, scoring eight goals. In November 1956, O'Farrell left for Preston North End in a straight swap deal involving Eddie Lewis. Replacing Ray Evans in the team, he scored on his home debut, a 20-yard strike against Manchester City. Playing alongside Tom Finney, he played 17 league matches before his first loss with the club. He would then miss over a month of football after treatment for a nosebleed which caused him to lose around four pints of blood (he…

Weymouth and Torquay United

On 20 June 1961, O'Farrell became player-manager at Southern League team Weymouth. He was paid £25 a week for the role, which was £5 more than he had been earning as a Football League player at Preston. In 1961–62, he oversaw Weymouth's passage to the fourth round of the FA Cup, where they were beaten by his old club Preston North End. After a runners-up spot in 1963–64, he led the club to their first Southern League championship in 1964–65, also reaching the final of the Southern League Cup that season. In May 1965, he became manager of Torquay United, replacing Eric Webber. He took the Gulls to promotion in his first season in charge and followed this with seventh- and fourth-place finishes in the Third Division in the following two seasons. While Torquay manager he returned to West Ham to sign a number of players, including John Bond, Ken Brown and Bill Kitchener.

Leicester City

In December 1968, O'Farrell took over Leicester City. He appointed former West Ham teammate Malcolm Musgrove as his assistant. Leicester were near the bottom of the First Division table when he was appointed and were relegated at the end of the season, but O'Farrell led them to the 1969 FA Cup Final, which they lost 1–0 to Manchester City. The following season brought a third-place finish, and 1970–71 saw the club win the Second Division and return to the top tier.

Manchester United

On 1 July 1971, he took over at Manchester United, having…

Born in Lower Dublin Hill in Blackpool, a suburb of Cork, O'Farrell lived on Friars Road, in the Turners Cross area of the city. His grand-uncle was renowned road bowling player John "Buck" McGrath. He was raised a Catholic and attended Scoil Chríost Rí. He played Gaelic football and captained the school team to its first trophy win in 1941. He also played the association code for local teams Nicholas Rovers, Clapton Celtic and at Western Rovers alongside the brother of Noel Cantwell, with whom he would later reunite as a teammate at West Ham United. At the age of 16, he started working on the railways and wanted to be a train driver, like his father. He worked as a fireman on the Dublin–Cork railway line.