Over the Christmas holidays, a heartwarming video spread online, showing a young Irish boy's deep love for Liverpool Football Club, and to be totally honest, it was probably the best football content you are ever likely to see.
Meet Dáire Gorman, a dedicated Liverpool fan who faces tough challenges due to Crommelin Syndrome, a rare condition that has left him without arms from his elbows down and missing femur bones in both legs. Because of this, the Liverpool fan is a full-time wheelchair user. Despite the challenges he faces, Dáire's spirit is still unbreakable, and his love for Liverpool shines brighter than ever.
Thanks to the support of the "Little Blue Heroes" charity and Ted Morris from the Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association, Dáire's dream of visiting Anfield came true last year. He got to experience his first live match at Anfield in September, where the anthem "You’ll Never Walk Alone" brought tears to his eyes before Liverpool's 3-0 win over Aston Villa.
The emotional video of Dáire, filmed by his dad Kenny, touched millions online. And as a result, Liverpool's manager, Jürgen Klopp, personally invited Dáire to visit the club, turning him into a viral sensation over Christmas. Meeting Klopp, Darwin Nunez, Mohammed Salah, and his hero, Luis Diaz, at the AXA Training Centre was a dream come true for Dáire and a heartwarming moment for everyone who saw it online.
This month, The Irish Post caught up with Dáire to hear all about his unforgettable time in Merseyside and to learn more about his unwavering passion for Liverpool Football Club. Here's what he had to say:
Conor: "You met Jürgen Klopp and the players; can you run me through the whole process of how that came about?"
Dáire: "Yeah, so, "Little Blue Heroes" helped organise a trip over to Liverpool for the first time, and my dad took a video of me listening to '"You'll Never Walk Alone," so he recorded that and sent it to Ted Morris, who helped "Little Blue Heroes" get me over. He gave up his seat for the Aston Villa game, and he put it on his Liverpool Disabled Association X page, and that got three million views. Jürgen Klopp and LFC TV came over to interview me, and then they surprised me with Klopp inviting me over to meet him."
Conor: "How did you feel when you got the initial video? I've seen the video, and I've seen your face drop. How did you feel at the time? You looked shocked."
Dáire: "Yeah, I was very shocked that Klopp saw my video and invited me over. I can't say I wasn't shocked."
Conor: "How did you find him off camera? Was he the same as on camera?"
Dáire: "Oh, yes, he was genuine and so kind. He was a gentleman, as my mom would say."
Conor: "How do you find Nunez? When you met him?"
Dáire: "He couldn't speak English, so I don't really know. He's a funny character. My sister came over to visit as well, and she noticed Nunez's pink boots and wanted them, so we asked him, "Could we have your pink boots?" and he hadn't a notion of what we said or what was happening; he just replied, "Pink yes.'"
Conor: "Do you think Nunez will take off and become the striker people think he will become?"
Dáire: "I think he will take over eventually when he starts scoring goals in big games. It will give him confidence. Klopp said that day, "Nunez isn't a player that runs off confidence; he's a player that could miss an open goal, and he will get on with it and go about his job." I think if he does start scoring, he will take off."
Conor: "How did you come to support Liverpool? What moment made you realise you wanted to back Liverpool?"
Dáire: "I got it from my dad. Liverpool was always something I kind of half-watched, but it was obvious that the night we beat Barcelona in 2019 was the moment that I really started supporting them."
There's nothing quite like sports to make us feel included, like a part of something bigger, a community.
This is Daire Gorman, a Liverpool supporter, hearing You'll Never Walk Alone ring out around Anfield for the first time.
What a fitting anthem.
pic.twitter.com/2ly49QPh7h— CaseOfTheMondays (@CaseOfThe) September 13, 2023
Conor: "Corner taken quickly." I'd say you have watched that over 10 times a day."
Dáire: "You can multiply that by 1000."
Conor: "Did you think that Liverpool were going to win the final against Spurs at the time?"
Dáire: "I didn't know at the time. It was interesting. My dad's auntie is from London, and we went over a few years ago. She almost prepared me to be a Tottenham fan, and at the time of the 2019 final, I was half-deciding, but I was more pushed on Liverpool because of the Barcelona thing, and I said, "Whoever wins the final, I am going to support whoever wins.'"
Conor: "What are you like watching Liverpool games? Are you mad?"
Dáire: "I'm a mad man. I am a psycho when it comes to football. For some reason, I start talking, and I repeat myself, and people say to me, "Stop talking." When it comes to bad calls, I am like a psycho."
Conor: "What do you think about Klopp leaving?"
Dáire: "I was devastated and heartbroken. He knew at the time he met me that he was leaving. He could have at least given me a wee bit of notice or said something to me."
Conor: "Who do you want to replace Klopp?"
Dáire: "There's one person. I had only one person in mind, and that's Xabi Alonso. Other than that, there's not really anyone else."
Conor: "You wouldn't take Erik Ten Hag, no?"
Dáire: "No, no, no, no," said Dáire emphatically.
Conor: "If Klopp ended up at United, how would you feel?"
Dáire: "He wouldn't do it. Not a hope. Not if he had no food to eat, like he said. I think even if he were bankrupt, he wouldn't join United. Not a hope."
Conor: "Do you think there will be a performance drop-off next year without Klopp?"
Dáire: "I think there will be a wee bit of struggle after Klopp, but once we get a good enough manager to get to know the players, there may be a struggle in the first half of the season, but in the second half, we could be ready to go again."
Conor: "What did you make of the Liverpool and Arsenal game?"
Dáire: "Liverpool played poorly; I will tell you that. Liverpool didn't defend the way they should. I don't know what happened between Virgil Van Dijk and Alisson Becker for the second goal, but I just think Liverpool were very poor. Even the goal we scored was our own goal, and we were just really poor against Arsenal."
Credit: Liverpool's Youtube accountConor: "You're a big Liverpool fan, and you have the chance to take two Manchester United players; who are they?"
Dáire: "I can't pick; they are all crap."
Conor: "Where do you think Salah will go?"
Dáire: "I think he will go to Saudi Arabia in the summer. I don't know what clubs. I can't pronounce half the clubs' names, so a lot of money will be spent."
Conor: "Conor Bradley, what have you made of him?"
Dáire: "He's a great player. He can defend, he can pass the ball, he can score goals, and he can win tackles. He's just the complete player and the right back you'd want. Trent can't defend, and he could be an option there with Trent moving into midfield. Conor Bradley is going to be a big part of Liverpool's future."
Conor: "Do you think they will win the four trophies this year?"
Dáire: "I think it's a big ask, but we are in the League Cup Final, the last 16 of the Europa League. The FA Cup is going to be a wee bit awkward because we are in the fifth or sixth round. It will be a big ask, but I hope we do win a quad for Klopp's last year."
Conor: "Your final prediction for the end of the season?"
Dáire: "For Klopp's final season, it would be nice. The Carabao Cup would be nice, and the Premier League would be lovely. The Europa League too, but the FA Cup with that would be a massive ask too. If we even get the league and League Cup finals, that will do nicely."
Conor: "Are you hopeful that you'll get to Dublin for the Europa League final if Liverpool get there. Do you think that Little Blue Hero's could get you there?"
Dáire: "That would be a massive ask," said the hopeful Liverpool nut. "I can only hope. Yeah, I really hope I get to go to it. I really want to go to Klopp's last match, and whether that's at Wembley or Anfield, I don't care. I not only want to go to the Europa League final, not because I am Irish, but because it's his last chance to win a trophy, and if he wins the Europa League this year, that's every trophy he's won with Liverpool. It will cap off his time at Liverpool nicely."
Conor: "Lastly, your favourite Liverpool signing this summer?"
Dáire: "Dominik Szoboszlai for me. He's great."
