A GROUP of GAA hurlers keen to do their bit help Ireland's homeless have taken to the streets of Dublin to serve up a special festive treat.
With over 4,000 people homeless this Christmas in Dublin, members of both the Westmeath seniors and U21 teams dished up more than 70 hot dinners when they served their post-match meals on Grafton Street.
The squads first handed out dishes in Mullingar before linking up with Cairdeas Homeless Action Group to serve dinners on the streets of the Irish capital.
The idea behind the gesture came to U21 manager Adrian Moran after he saw a man lying in a doorway in Dublin.
Moran also spoke of the inspiration behind the move – the man he saw lying on a doorstep on a recent shopping trip to Dublin.
“I was standing around outside Jervis Street shopping centre and I noticed a guy lying in a door-way,” he said. “I thought he was asleep initially, but I then realised he was just staring into oblivion, basically.
“She suggested that whatever I did wouldn't have a huge impact unless I could think of something a bit different.
"So I spoke to the lads involved in the Westmeath U-21 management and and a few of the players and then spoke to Darren McCormack who would be a link between the U-21 and senior Westmeath teams and their manager Michael Ryan.
“Everyone was agreeing they'd give up a post-match meal. That's roughly 70 meals, and then I spoke to the Annebrooke Hotel who said they'd bump it up to 100 or whatever it takes. That's where it started.”