Tributes paid to "one of a kind" Wigan footballer who died in a hiking accident

Kieran Halliwell (right) has been described as "One of a kind"

Teacher Kieran Halliwell, 35, went missing last week while walking up Mweelrea Mountain in County Mayo.

On August 16 at around 3.30pm, he had sent a selfie, at the summit, to family members.

An alert was sent out the following day when he failed to return from the hike, which initiated a search operation.

It was called off on the Wednesday after his body was discovered.

Mr Halliwell grew up in Pennington in Leigh, but visited Ireland from an early age due to having family from there on his mother’s side.

Andy Miller had been his “very best friend” since the age of five, when they started playing together at Eastleigh Juniors.

Mr Miller said: “He was my go-to guy. He knew everything about me, people said we were like Ant and Dec. I loved him to pieces and he will never leave my heart.

“We used to love going for a pint on a Wednesday night, that was sort of our thing. He enjoyed going to Blackpool on a Jolly Boys Outing and going for a dip in the sea. He also liked going to the races and knew every line in Only Fools and Horses.

“He was a tough character and not many people saw his softer side. He loved his two nephews.”

Mr Miller says his best friend was during all the key moments of his life, and had a close bond with his family.

“On the day of my wedding he jumped in the bath with me. He’s also the Godparent to my little girl and was meant to be one for my little boy as well; somehow I’m still going to make that happen.

“My mum passed away earlier this year, and he always used to call her ‘the boss' and he was there for me afterwards.”

Mr Miller won plenty of trophies alongside Mr Halliwell, who enjoyed his best football with teams including Leigh Athletic, with the help of a certain routine.

“He had a superstition, where he only ever tied his laces on the pitch. It was something he always did. His life revolved around football, as well as being a kind and caring person,” he said.

Off the field, Mr Halliwell was an avid Manchester United fan, and compared one of his coaches to one of the greatest of all time.

“He used to call our old manager Bernard Ratcliffe, Sir Bernard, and looked up to him like he was Sir Alex Ferguson. His favourite player of all time has to be Eric Cantona,” Mr Miller added.

Atherton Town FC manager Mark Prince says Mr Halliwell will be missed and he was someone people could always rely on.

He said: “He was one of a kind and a leader of men. He was older than his time, he’d go for a pint on his own and blend in naturally, as just one of the lads. You always wanted him with you on nights out because he was just hilarious.

“Only a few people saw his softer side because he had this really strong persona about him and was quite straight faced. My little girl hasn’t been well and he was always being supportive, so I will never forget that.”

Mr Prince remembers first coming across Kieran in the early 2000s, when they were on opposing sides.

“I hated playing against him because he was mouthy, but we ended up being teammates and from there we kept in touch, becoming drinking buddies.

“He was also fit. Once he had something in his mind he would hit the gym and do everything right.”

Mr Halliwell signed for Atherton Town FC in 2020, playing under Mr Prince for the first time, where he was able to make an impact.

“He had quite a few knee injuries so he didn’t play that many games but he loved it here. He was a massive character in the dressing room.

“We’ve got some young lads who he really took under his wing and spoke to them individually. He had that respect and they’d listen to him because he had been there and done it.”

Mr Halliwell studied at the University of Liverpool and trained to become an English teacher.

Mr Prince said: “So many people have rung us to share stories. He went uni with a director at Leeds United, who offered to provide stuff for auctioning. It shows the measure of the man and how many people he touched. It’s such a shame.

“There are talks of getting a memorial bench so he is never forgotten, and there will be a charity game at Atherton Collieries on 17 October.”

The donations from that match will be donated to causes including the rescue team who found him.

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 for your first month. Try us today by clicking here and viewing our offers.