WHEN Harry O’Farrell’s name was called by Laura Kane at selection No.40 in the 2024 Telstra AFL Draft, a family link with Carlton was further enhanced – and the clan’s incredible club connection across the past 110 years rivals few others.
With the assistance of Harry’s grandparents Kath and Laurie, both of whom share a keen interest in the stories of their ancestors, the O’Farrell ties with former Carlton footballers (four Premiership players amongst them) are truly impressive in terms of their scope.
They are as follows:
- Harry’s paternal great aunt Rose English married the late Allie English who was the brother of 115-game centre half-back Vin English, and their older brother Ron was the father of 1981 and ’82 premiership player Des English;
- Harry’s paternal aunt Michelle married Harry Verbeek, the cousin of 38-game player Simon Verbeek;
- Harry’s paternal uncle Tim married Lou Burke who with her brother Frank Burke (a five-game reserve grade player) are the respective niece and nephew of 1979 premiership wingman Peter Francis;
- Harry’s paternal aunt Emma married Paul Boxshall who is the nephew of 1970 premiership half-back Barry Mulcair; and
- Harry’s maternal uncle Tim married Nadine Halpin who is the great granddaughter of 1914 and ’15 premiership player and former captain Charlie Fisher.
To take the family connections further, Harry’s uncle David O’Farrell was in Carlton’s 1985 Under 19s squad, which included the future premiership player Ian Aitken (who passed on a video message to Harry with his new No.22 guernsey last Friday). Harry’s grandfather John Halpin was coached by another Harry and Carlton’s games record holder in the No.22 – the legendary Harry ‘Soapy’ Vallence – at VAFA club CBC St Kilda Old Collegians in the 1960s.
Then there’s Harry’s great uncle Terry O’Farrell, who briefly trained with the Club in the summer of 1956 before returning to Bendigo Football League club Sandhurst – the club from which the likes of Geoff Southby, Trevor Keogh, Kevin Sheehan (AFL Talent Ambassador), Brendan Hartney, the Sextons and the late Brian Walsh originally hailed, as well as Harry’s father, uncles and grandfather - and for which one of those uncles Mark O’Farrell currently serves as President. Terry later captained and coached Sebastopol to a premiership and earned the Ballarat Football League’s Best and Fairest award in the same year (1965).
Co-incidentally, the Carlton Football Club’s Annual Report of 1900 also lists a P. O’Farrell amongst 25 Life Members – another potential family tie warranting further research.
In an era when professionalism dictates that there’s rarely room for sentiment, Harry O’Farrell’s Carlton connection brings a welcome romanticism to the great Australian game.
