IRELAND HAVE HAILED 12-year-old supporter Déire Gorman as a “real inspiration” after his visit to their training camp ahead of the Six Nations clash with Wales on Saturday.
Dáire, who previously visited Jurgen Klopp in Liverpool, impressed the players and coaches in the Ireland set-up as he joined them at their training base in Dublin today.
Monaghan native Dáire was born with a rare condition called Crommelin Syndrome and Ireland said his mentality was inspiring after meeting him.
The young sports fans told the Ireland squad it “means everything to me” to watch their games and they were impressed by his words.
“It was amazing,” said Ireland assistant coach Simon Easterby.
“Obviously he had gone over to Liverpool and met Klopp. Was it Diaz that was his favourite player and it turned out that Bundee was his favourite player here. We got Bundee up to present him a shirt.
“He’s a lovely kid and the whole family is lovely. He’s a great supporter, he loves his sport, he’s so knowledgeable – not just rugby but football and American football. So he is a real character and it was great to have him involved.
“Unfortunately, we got Fogs [scrum coach John Fogarty] up to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone with him. Fogs’ memory must have slipped him because he struggled a little bit with the words.
“We really enjoyed having him in and it’s people like that who give the players the inspiration to go on and perform because he’s been through a hell of a lot in a short life.
“He’s a real inspiration.”
