FORMER national footballer Irvino Augustus English was laid to rest yesterday as tears flowed openly for the man loved my many.

The 42-year-old popularly known as Dada, who was killed on February 26, was laid to rest at Meadowrest Memorial Gardens in St Catherine.

With social distancing being enforced inside Penwood Seventh-day Adventist Church hundreds of well-wishers were left outside in the sweltering heat as they came to pay their last respects to English, who brought them so much joy on and off the football field.

The talented footballer who led Waterhouse Football Club to two National Premier League titles in 1998 and 2006 played five times for Jamaica.

He also won the Manning Cup with Norman Manley High School in 1996, and was the assistant coach at Arnett Gardens and Wolmer’s Boys’ School at the time of his death.

His colourful casket complemented the football-shaped programme which was laced with a montage of his images.

The ceremony, which started at approximately 1:45 pm, was pierced by the shrieking cries of his sister Nickesha Palmer as she hugged his casket and shouted “Mi bredda” before being consoled by family and friends.

English was gunned down near his house in the war-torn Waterhouse community on Ashoka Road, and his neighbour for many years, double Olympics 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, paid a fitting tribute to her late friend.

She said it was extremely sad that a member of the community who had contributed so much had died in his community.

“Before the world knew Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce they knew a star and he came from my road, Ashoka Road, in Irvino English,” Fraser-Pryce said.

“A lot of persons didn’t know where Waterhouse is or where Ashoka Road is; Irvino English made that possible,” she added.

“He has contributed so much to the sport. He has contributed not only on the field but off the field. He has done so much for the community and Ashoka Road and he died on Ashoka Road. What does this say about us?” asked Fraser-Pryce.

“Here he is today. This is not to be his legacy,” she added.

Meanwhile, Opposition spokesman on finance Mark Golding, who is the chairman of Arnett Gardens Football Club of which English was the assistant coach at the time of his death, lauded the deceased.

“He quickly made his mark and was full of vibes, knowledgeable, and was a great baller himself. The team grew and bonded with him and the community was very upset when they heard of his untimely passing,” Golding told the Observer.

“Our condolence go to his family and to his friends and all who knew and loved Irvino English. May his soul rest in peace,” he added.

People’s National Party (PNP) shadow minister of industry, competitiveness and global logistics, Anthony Hylton, who is the Member of Parliament for the St Andrew Western constituency where English lived, also commended the impact he had on the community.

“The loss is huge. It’s not possible to fill the void that has been created because of who he was, not just as a personality, but one of Jamaica’s real, iconic football players. He brought his own style, his own swag to football in Jamaica and his community,” said Hylton.

“His game was a community game. He is from the community and played for the community so adulation was real, the support was there, and he entertained – and as an entertainer he was par excellence.

“It has been difficult for the community and it had been compounded as he died in the community. So, they have a special sense of loss and we pray that his memory will be recognised and be positive for the community,” said Hylton.

The Jamaica Football Federation’s Vice-President Raymond Anderson pointed out that the local governing body still has in its possession English’s Level One Coaching Course Certificate, which he had completed before his death.

“The JFF really wants to send [our] condolence to his family and friends. We could not miss this opportunity of the final celebration of his life,” said Anderson.

He continued: “English is a person if you don’t know him you will read him wrong because of his passion for the sport, which I really encourage and hope that some of the players will follow.”