Ryan McBride was the captain of Derry City in the Irish Premier Division

McBridge, 27, had mentioned feeling unwell before Saturday's game against Drogheda United

Crowds of fans gathered around his house on Sunday to pay their respects

A young Irish football star was tragically found dead in his bedroom on Sunday, just hours after winning a crucial match.

Ryan McBride was captain of Derry City and led his team-mates to a stunning 4-0 victory against rivals Drogheda United the day before his shocking death.

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Sources said Ryan, 27, had mentioned feeling unwell after Saturday's match, and had gone home.

The funeral of the late Derry City captain Ryan McBride will take place on Thursday

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The Candy Stripes centre back is believed to have been discovered in his bedroom, where he sadly passed away, at sometime during Sunday.

A close family friend of Mr McBride, who lived in Derry's Bluebell Hill Gardens close to Brandywell Stadium, confirmed the sad news that he has passed away, but was too distraught to speak any further.

Crowds of supporters gathered around his house to hold a vigil for the rising soccer star on Sunday

The cause of his death is unknown. The Irish Daily Mail has approached the PSNI press office for comment.

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McBride had helped Derry to a 4-0 victory over Drogheda United on Saturday (not pictured)

The news sent shockwaves through the world of Irish football, and several prominent attendees left the FAI International Awards, which were held in Dublin, when the news came through.

Ryan's former team-mate, current Republic of Ireland star James McClean, broke the news to Derry local Martin O'Neil, who left the annual celebration when he heard of the defender's sudden death.

McClean had remained close friends with his former team-mate and will be excused from training with the Republic of Ireland squad this week to attend Ryan's funeral.

The Derry native began his career with the home town team, Derry City, in 2011 and had played in every match with the Candy Stripes this season.

Tributes were flooding in on Twitter from across the football community, from former and current team-mates, other clubs and hundreds of stunned fans.

Tributes flooded in on Twitter with fans speaking of their shock that McBride had passed away

The PFA Ireland, official body of the League of Ireland players' union, wrote: 'We are shocked to hear this evening the passing of our member and @derrycityfc Captain Ryan McBride.

'Our thoughts are with his family.'

Ryan's team posted an emotional tribute on their official twitter page @derrycityfc, a picture of the young man in his kit with the caption 'Captain Fantastic' which was liked and retweeted more than 2,000 times in just 20 minutes after it first appeared on the social media site.

Gerard Grimes wrote: 'Heartbreaking news coming from Derry City. RIP Ryan McBride. Only 27 years old.'

And Niamh O'Mahony tweeted: 'Thoughts are with the friends and family of Ryan McBride and the people of @derrycityfc this evening. RIP.'

This is the second tragedy to strike Derry City after striker Mark Farren passed away after a battle with brain cancer last year, aged just 33.

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Last year also saw another member on the Derry City team, Josh Daniels, hit by tragedy when his mother, sister, brother-in-law and nephews were all killed in the Buncrana pier disaster.