Over €2,000 has been raised in Cork for a homeless man whose tent and possessions were burnt and destroyed by a teenage gang.
Michael Veale has been sleeping in a tent on the streets in Cork city for nearly two months. He said he is overwhelmed by the response.
Michael has been homeless for the past 13 years and said the group of teenagers knew of his situation as he had been chatting to them before the incident.
Speaking to TV3, Mr Veale said, “I walked down to the shop to buy a paper and when I came back up the place was a blaze. ”
“I hope their mothers are proud of them, they should be ashamed of themselves. They knew I was homeless, I was talking to them before I went to the shop.”
The story was also aired on The Neil Prendeville Show on Cork’s Red FM and led to a surge in support from the local community in the county.
Christina Chalmers from ‘Helping Cork’s Homeless’ said she was inundated with requests on how to help Mr Veale and so decided to set up a GoFundMe page for donations.
The money raised is enough to cover a deposit for a flat in Cork plus the first month’s rent for Michael and Ms Chalmers says the money will be released when a flat becomes available.