An Irish waitress in America has shared how a "guardian angel" customer left her a €2,400 tip so she could travel home to Ireland.

Imelda Murphy Sprenger was working at a restaurant and pub in Illinois on February 12 when she was told that an envelope had been left for her.

Speaking to NBC, Mayo woman Imelda said that she was given the envelope when she stopped to talk to a customer she knew.

The customer, a woman called Kim, was the daughter of a pilot named Leo who Imelda served at Nick's Pizza & Pub in Crystal Lake for several years.

Leo and his pilot co-workers previously left Imelda a tip of $1000 (€950) so she could travel home to her sister's wedding and over the years Imelda grew close to Leo's family.

When Imelda went to talk to Kim, she was handed an envelope.

"[Kim] sat down and I could tell she was a little nervous, I could tell that about her.

"Kim gave me this envelope and I’m like, 'What’s this?' and she said, 'Oh, this is from your guardian angel' and she goes, 'I’m serious' and she was very serious. And my legs started to wobble.

"I read in the letter, it was like this beautiful butterfly card, it said, 'Imelda, here's hoping this helps on getting you back to Ballinrobe in 2017.'

"And the most beguiling thing about this is no one knows where I live. And then she wrote, 'Cheers.' That was it."

Imelda told NBC that she only knows that the person who left her the gift was once served by her at the eatery and happened to know Kim and her family.

"I guess a couple of years ago, this lady was at Nick’s. I took care of this lady and her family," she said.

"I don’t know but she remembered me for some really odd reason and I stood out and I guess made an impression or whatever."

The good news was first shared to the restaurant's Facebook page.

"I don't even know how to explain what happened tonight with our very special Imelda Murphy Sprenger. She received a $2500 (€2400) tip/gift from a woman who only wants to be known as her guardian angel. Magic happens again," reads the post.

Online Editors