Celtic and St Mirren hero Frank McGarvey funeral service details as club’s offer ‘thoughts and prayers’ to family

Celtic and St Mirren fans will pay tribute to former hero Frank McGarvey when he is laid to rest during a funeral service this afternoon.

The Scotland international and Buddies ‘Hall of Fame’ legend sadly passed away on New Year’s Day at the age of 66 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.

McGarvey, who scored 113 goals in 245 appearances for the Hoops over a five-year spell and won the Scottish Cup with St Mirren in 1987, was diagnosed with the disease last October, his family revealed.

The prolific striker made his last appearance on the pitch at Parkhead during Celtic’s 6-1 victory over Hibernian as he thanked supporter for their all kind messages. His son, Sean confirmed his father’s passing on January 1.

A minute’s applause was held at Celtic’s B team Lowland League derby against Rangers, while tributes were also paid prior to St Mirren’s Premiership encounter with Kilmarnock and during their home clash against Hearts earlier this month.

A Requiem Mass will take place at St Anthony’s Church and broadcast on YouTube to allow fans to pay their final respects before McGarvey is laid to rest. Details of the service were shared by Celtic on Twitter with the club offering condolences.

They posted: “The funeral of Celtic icon Frank McGarvey can be veiwed on the link tomorrow (Monday, January 16) at 1pm. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the family and friends of Frank at this difficult time.”

McGarvey enjoying a glittering career which began at St Mirren in 1975 after impressing in the Juniors with Kilsyth Rangers. He became a first-team regular across four seasons before signing for Liverpool for a fee of around £270,000 in May 1979.

However, he left Anfield after just ten months due to a lack of first-team opportunities and returned to Scotland to join Celtic in March 1980. In doing so, he became Scotland’s most expensive footballer for a short period of time.

During his successful spell at Parkhead, McGarvey won two league titles, two Scottish Cups and the League Cup before going on to enjoy further success at St Mirren after returning to Paisley for a second stint.

He went onto play for Queen of the South, Clyde, Shotts Bon Accord and Troon during the latter years of his playing career and was capped seven times for Scotland.

In 2008, McGarvey wrote an autobiography, ‘Totally Frank’, in which he discussed the highs and lows of his career and how he recovered from a long-time gambling addiction.

To view the funeral mass at 1pm, please click here.