Tributes have been flooding in for Eamon Coleman, the former Derry All-Ireland winning football manager who died on Monday night. The 59-year-old Ballymaguigan man, who also managed Longford and Cavan, died surrounded by his family at about 8.30pm following a long battle with illness. His funeral arrangements will be announced later. Derry county board PRO and lifelong friend Gerry Donnelly said: "He was a great friend of mine for 46 years and that superseded any other part that he played. That is what I remember him for - his friendship. He was a big man in every way but stature. "He's earned his peace now." Derry football legend Jim McKeever described Eamon as a "very significant figure in football in Ireland." "He was well-known throughout the game but not always appreciated. People like myself from his own club probably appreciated him more as a full human being. He was a popular figure. The game is going to miss him," McKeever added. Media pundit Joe Brolly, who played under Coleman in Derry's historic 1993 All-Ireland triumph, said: "Eamon was always so youthful. He was a boy trapped in a man's body. He was a man who had great affection for everyone. He was so affectionate towards his players. "Everybody loved Eamon - you couldn't have disliked him. He would play cards with the boys at the back of the bus before the games. He was a real life force, so jocular and so full of fun and mischief, of course. It's very sad. I'm devastated for his family. It's always the good ones that go. For us (the Derry players), it's like losing a close relative." Tweet

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