A HOMELESS MAN in Cork has had his Christmas wish granted and will be reunited with his family after his photograph was shared on Facebook.

George, who says he is living on a disability allowance, is currently without a permanent residence and staying in Kinsale, Co Cork.

Earlier this week his photo appeared on the Humans of Ireland Facebook page, which documents ordinary people around the country.

Source: Humans of Ireland via Facebook

George told photographer Lee Furlong:

I’m homeless and travelling around to any town that has shelter for the homeless so I can get a bed for the night as a lot of places are full. If I had to sleep out in this cold I’d be dead already.

He added that he had one wish this Christmas. “The only thing I care about is finding a place to have a Christmas dinner. If I could find a B&B that’d included a Christmas dinner I’d pay the money.”

After explaining to George that his photo would be posted online, Furlong shared the image on his Facebook page, where it has been liked hundreds of times. The response, he says, was immediate.

“I was getting messages from people saying tell him to come down to my house for Christmas,” Furlong told DailyEdge.ie. “One friend offered to pay for a hotel for him.”

But Furlong also got a message from George’s sister Sheelagh, who said she had not seen him in 12 years, their mother was not well, and she wanted to invite him to her home in Ballybrack in Dublin for Christmas.

Furlong managed to get in touch with George, and put them in contact. He wrote in a blog post on Wednesday:

This morning George called to tell me that he was returning to the family home next Wednesday. We had a really nice chat, he sounded so up beat compared to our first meeting.He thanked me, wished me a Merry Christmas and hoped that we stay in touch. I returned his well wishes and that I hoped he enjoys Christmas Dinner with his family this year.

George was also interviewed on Cork’s 96FM this week. While on air he received other offers of help, including the manager of the Clarion Hotel in Cork offering a room for the night, and Saville’s Menswear offering him clothing to go home in.