ONE of the stories of the World Cup in Brazil this summer locally was the adventures of Oakpark native Michael Griffin.
Mike got a stellar line-up of professional footballers past and present to sign a Na Gaeil GAA shirt with the plan to auction it off for charity at a later date.
This week Mike has announced he will be choosing the CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) Ireland charity.
“I decided to go with CRY Ireland because they are a small charity that often gets overshadowed by some of the major charities,” said Michael Griffin.
CRY Ireland is a charity that raises awareness for sudden cardiac death and provides a free counselling service to families and friends affected by ‘SADS’ (Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome).
Some of the signatures he snared for the jersey were none other than Diego Maradona, Zico, Robin Van Persie, Fabio Cannavaro and Dirk Kuyt so it’s expected to raise a lot of money.
‘There is a sport connection there that appealed to me as well, with so many athletes and their families being effected by SADS,” said Mike.
“The Rose of Tralee festival will be helping me out this week. The jersey will be at the Rose Ball so hopefully it can get some media attention and we can raise as much money as possible,” said Mike.
Mike has also posted up a new video on Youtube that really gives a flavour of the incredible experience he had in Brazil.
In it, one of the stand out moments is him playing soccer on Rio De Janeiro’s iconic Ipanema beach with locals in his Kerry jersey.
We were well represented.
A closer look at the signatures of Footballers Micheal Griffin got during his time at the World Cup in Brazil. Photo by Gavin O’Connor.
