Monaghan boy with rare syndrome describes 'best day of his life' after meeting Liverpool heroes

A boy from Co Monaghan has had his dreams comes true after he was invited by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp to meet him and his players at Anfield before Christmas.

12-year-old Dáire Gorman, who lives with an extremely rare condition called Crommelin Syndrome, made the trip across the Irish Sea at the beginning of December alongside his family.

Dáire's condition means he was born without part of his arms below his elbow and without femur bones in his legs.

The invite came following a video posted back in September on social media. In it, Dáire is overcome with emotion during 'You'll Never Walk Alone' [YNWA], Liverpool's famous anthem.

That was at his very first Liverpool game against Aston Villa in September 2023. The video, which went viral with more than 16,000 likes on X, was spotted by Klopp who then wanted to create a very special pre-Christmas treat for Dáire.

Dáire told UTV: "It [YNWA] means a lot to me because I grew up with people, look at him, look at the way he is and all. And I'm like, I walk alone, and then going to Anfield and listening to YNWA it just made me overcome with emotions."

During the visit, he met heroes such as Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah as well as his favourite player, Luis Diaz.

Dáire added: "It didn't feel real for a wee but then coming towards the end I was like, oh, it actually happened!

"This time last year, I was waiting on surgery. My ankle needed redone and I was in excruciating pain for about a year. And then a complete turnaround - going to Liverpool for the first time, going to meet Klopp a few months later. A complete life turnaround and every second of it I loved"

The video of the family visit, posted by Liverpool FC on Christmas Day, has now accumulated more than 700,000 views on Facebook.

Dáire wanted to thank Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association and the Little Blue Heroes for helping to make his dreams come true.

A pre-Christmas treat quite like any other.

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