Tommy Shields has spent decades following Galway United. Living in Loughrea with a Ukrainian family nearby Shields simply wanted to provide some assistance.
In less than a week more than €2,000 has been collected. “I have neighbours who live around the corner from me,” Shields explains.
“Val travelled to the Ukraine last Sunday to collect his daughter and grandaughter. So we decided we would have a bucket collection for them on Friday night, it turned out very, very well. The bucket collection nearly made €1,600, people are still donating to my Facebook page, they have donated more than €560.
“It is a terrible situation Val found himself in. Even though he got his daughter and grandaughter out, his son and partner are both staying behind in the Ukraine to fight. Daniel, his son, was in helping us on Friday night, three or four Ukrainians came to help us, as well as our own lads. It just brings it home to you when it is so close - it is frightening really.”
Shields stays in constant contact with the family. “It is shocking, Val had to travel 900kms into Ukraine and back out,” he adds.
“So God knows what they were thinking when they were going in and going out. As well as that the family they have left behind, brothers and sisters, they couldn't contact them. I was talking to Ina all of the time. While Val was away Ina was distraught because she couldn't contact any of her family in the Ukraine, all of the networks were down, WiFi was down, so they couldn't get on the internet. It was a double whammy.”
One of the few sources of comfort is how people have tried to help in small ways: the fundraiser an obvious example. “It was great because we only set it up three or four days beforehand,” Shields says.
“There was no point in waiting a week or two weeks. What they need now, and the Red Cross have said it too, is that if people could donate money more so than goods. It makes it far easier for them when they don't have to be bringing trucks over across from Ireland. They can buy the stuff in Poland and bring it over the border from there.
“You have loads of Ukrainian people living in Galway. People just need to reach out to them, to see what they can do for them. The Polish community in Galway have been unbelievable towards them - the fundraising they have done, the local people here and the Red Cross.”
**Listen to the full interview with Galway United supporter Tommy Shields on this week’s ‘Cian on Sport’ podcast available on Soundcloud, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
