A GRIEVING Swindon Town fan has paid tribute to his late son and father who both died within weeks of each other.

Liam Walsh has many happy memories of going to Town games with his father Mick and sons Euan and Patrick, who were looking forward to celebrating the end of a promotion-winning season.

But Patrick, 15, and Mick, 77, died at the start of the year, and the chance for them to be included in the traditional roll of honour on the last game of the season disappeared when the lockdown forced all games to be cancelled.

So, Mr Walsh wrote a heartbreaking tribute reflecting on his loss and the passion for football he shared with them.

READ LIAM'S EMOTIONAL TRIBUTE IN FULL

The 51-year-old from Witney told the Adver: “It was heart-shattering in a way you can never fully comprehend or expect. Dad went into hospital the day after Patrick died, then he quickly went downhill. It was a bizarre, horrible experience and the grief for each of them blurred together.

Swindon Advertiser:

“I’ve been very fortunate in not losing anyone close, then suddenly I lost two people I care deeply about in a few weeks.

“I’ve been thinking about doing something special for the day but the lockdown came at a difficult time and took away all the structures of regular life, and football was a big part of that. It was really painful to be put into a strange situation we’d never experienced before while coming to terms with such a big loss.

“Patrick was very caring, always looking out for other people. People said the same things about my dad after they died – he was gentle, funny and kind. As an only child, dad and I did everything together, he instilled that passion for sport in me and was a huge part of my life.

Swindon Advertiser:

“Patrick would have loved to play football when he grew up – his sporting life had been on hold for a while because of a knee injury and he was looking forward to getting back on the pitch.

“He loved following his team and the fact that he could not play made his passion even stronger. He looked forward to it every week and wanted experiences more than things, so he loved going on day trips to away games.

“Going to the Newport match after Patrick died was a hard decision to make, but not doing it would have made doing anything else very difficult. It was something he would have wanted and expected – it was because of him that we got tickets because he noticed there was a limited amount left.

Swindon Advertiser:

“Dad died before the Exeter home game and again it was a case of ‘do we or don’t we go’ but there was only one option, really. It was extraordinary and very emotional to see 13,000 people there, and in a way it really did feel like they had come for Patrick and dad.

“It’s a lot to mourn, but the group SUDC UK has been a big help and comfort to us. We’ve set up a page called Patrick’s Place to share memories with others and share our pain, because it’s not just affected us, the whole community was shocked.”