Over 400 GAA players stage sleep-out in aid of homeless charities
Some 400 inter-county GAA players slept rough across the country last night in an effort to raise much needed funds for homeless charities.
Organised by the volunteer group Gaelic Voice for Change, the 12-hour sleep-outs took place from 6pm – 6am in various towns and cities including Dublin, Galway, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Naas and Sligo.
Players in New York and Boston also took part.
So far, the group has raised over €176,800 for charities in the north and south including the Peter McVerry Trust, DePaul, the Simon Communities, Focus Ireland and the Capuchin Day Centre, Cope Galway, Thomand House and Novas in Limerick, and the Welcome Organisation in Belfast.
A BIG Thank You to @GaelicVoices4Ch for their #SolidaritySleepout tonight at the Cork Court House, Washington St, demanding an end to the #homeless crisis. Please give them your support. pic.twitter.com/bGyikSyVAD
— Cork Simon Community (@Cork_Simon) December 16, 2017
And so we made it through the night, now we pack up and most go home to bed… but for some sleeping beside us they were already “in bed” Homelessness is a stark reality! Thanks to everyone for the support for the @GaelicVoices4Ch #SolidaritySleepout pic.twitter.com/xIiWw8XE1z
— Anna Geary (@AnnaGCork) December 17, 2017
Bedding down for the night!! ended up beside @RorysStories ! #Solidaritysleepout #dublin#gpo pic.twitter.com/8teAGDzGgn
— Conor.mortimer (@Conmort) December 17, 2017
I am absolutely blown away with respect for the young #GAA men & women who are sleeping out tonight to raise money for & awareness of the homeless problem. All around Ireland. #SolidaritySleepout @GaelicVoices4Ch
— Des Cahill (@sportsdes) December 17, 2017
Dublin footballer Eamon Fennell said is about much more than putting a roof over someone's head.
"I think we understand that there's a crisis at the moment, and we just felt we had to do something,
"We knew that homelessness was about getting a roof over someone's head, but it's also about tacking mental health, physical health, kids' self-esteem that are living in hotels and hostels.
"There's an education piece that people don't understand that we're trying to bring to them now."
You can donate to Gaelic Voices for Change here.
