The family of a Meath solider who was badly injured when his platoon were ambushed in Ukraine have started a fundraiser.
His mam, Catherine Meagher set up 'Saving Private Brian' to get the brave Ratoath man back to the country for hospital treatment. Several of his colleagues were killed instantly and others are still MIA. He has already received several surgeries with many more to go.
Thankfully, Brian is expected to make a full recovery much to the relief of his family and friends. The ex-Irish army man was determined to help in Ukraine, when the conflict started. He explained that he hoped other countries would help if Ireland faced the same situation.
Read more: Irish soldier opens up on fighting in Ukraine and admits he should be dead
A family member told Dublin Live that they are beyond relieved that Brian is back on Irish soil and receiving the care he needs.
She said: "The fundraiser was started because he had no health insurance. He is going to need a lot of medical attention down the round. He arrived back on Friday with the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs. They have him in the CUH in the Cork.
"They found one of his colleagues alive twelve days later. He went over to Ukraine at the end of May. He is ex-Irish army. First of all he was chatting about the children affected. Then he said that if our little island was under attack we would love other people to come over and help us. I didn't want him to go but he was hell-bent on going to help out from a humanitarian aspect. That's what he went for first but because of his army experience, he was approached to go on the frontline.
"We are relived he is home. When we heard about Rory Mason's death, we realised that could have been us. We were so lucky."
You can donate to Brian's fundraiser here.
Read next:
Luas red line operating hours to change temporarily due to engineering works
- Met Eireann's teeth-chattering forecast as temperatures to plunge in Dublin
Dublin pub sparks coddle debate - 'Irish sausage soup' or 'finest meal' ever
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
