IRELAND CAPTAIN SEAMUS Coleman made a pair of Everton supporters’ dreams come true this weekend with a generous €2,000 donation to get the pair over to Goodison Park later this season.
The story of Eoin Mulligan and friend Francis from Athlone and their shared passion for Everton went viral last week, with the pair initially raising enough money to bring them to Merseyside for the club’s Europa League qualifier with Hajduk Split.
Francis, who has Asperger’s syndrome, was unable to attend the game last Thursday however, after falling sick before just hours before kick-off.
With that in mind the pair tried again and, with the help of defender Coleman, have now raised more than double the money needed for Francis’ dream to come true.
After donating €2,000 Coleman wrote on Saturday:
“Sorry you couldn’t make it to the game Francis. I hope you’re feeling better now. Hopefully this helps get you and Eoin your flights and accommodation for another game and I’m sure the club will look after you as always.”
The sizeable donation to the GoFundMe page means Eoin and Francis have now raised over €2,600 in just one day, with their initial goal being €1,100. After smashing their target Eoin wrote on Sunday:
What a rollercoaster ride it has been. This fund will now enable us to plan the trip well in advance, also ensuring Francis has plenty of time to wrap his head around it and digest the information properly.
“I will continue to leave the post up for another two days in the hope we can raise more well-needed funds for Aspire Ireland.
“Thank you to everyone for all you have done I will be grateful to you for the rest of my life.”
After seeing the donation come through Eoin wrote how much of an inspiration Coleman was to them and to the people of Ireland.
“I am literally speechless,” he wrote.
Not only is Seamus an inspiration to thousands of people across Ireland but he is also one of Francis’ favourite players of all time.
“The fact that someone of Seamus’ stature could reach out like this and help someone says a lot about his character. These last few days have proved to me the world is a lot brighter of a place than we think.
“And because of people like all of you that donated you have helped give Francis another chance at the trip of his dream and in turn helped raise awareness and much needed funds for autism in Ireland.
I only hope we can meet in person so I can show you how much this has meant to me. You are a modern day hero. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Eoin continued that all surplus donations would be donated to the Asperger Syndrome Association of Ireland (Aspire) in Francis’ name.
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