Over €35k raised for homeless man found in woods

Over €35,000 has been raised for a homeless man who was rescued in the woods after friends launched a search for him earlier this month.

A GoFundMe was set up for Cian Murtagh, who is originally from Meath but has been living Cork, in an effort to help him secure a 'dream home' and transition out of homelessness.

Cian was found by local walkers in a “severely malnourished state and on the verge of death” in the Galtee Woods in Tipperary earlier this month. According to Kilbehenny Community Centre, who organised the fundraiser, “he lost the will to live and went to die alone”.

The thirty year old, who has experienced homelessness for many years, was taken to hospital and is now receiving treatment.

The fundraiser hopes to find Cian what they describe as a “forever home” after years of living homeless. “He grew up in state care from an early age. After leaving state care, he moved around Ireland for many years homeless and sleeping on the streets,” it said.

‘Even though he was living in such difficult conditions he never developed addiction problems. During this time he endured countless assaults, had his ribs broken, teeth knocked out, and his life was in danger on many occasions. He had no safe haven to recover from his injuries.

“In these very difficult circumstances he still wanted to be employed,mostly working in construction, but could never raise enough money to put a roof over his head. With this goal becoming more and more difficult to achieve, Cian after many years of trying so hard, gave up all hope,” it added.

“He lost the will to live and went to die alone in a secluded area of Galtee Woods.

luckily local walkers found him, but he was in a severely malnourished state and on the verge of death. He is now recovering in hospital.”

Speaking about the fundraising efforts, they said: “We have been very touched by Cian’s story and want to help Cian as much as we can. We want Cian to finally have the home he deserves. We are raising these funds to make his dream of a home come true and in his own words “ to live a simple life.’”

Last year, Cian featured in a documentary about homelessnes which aired on Virgin Media. When interviewed he said that he wasn’t “the type of person to reach out or ask for help.”

“I don’t do drugs, I have have no criminal convictions, but if you’re a rough sleeper you realise that you’re an outcast,” he said.

He explained that he had difficulty accessing basic state services as he had no address that he could give, and said his long-term dream was to have five acres of land, live in the country and be self-sufficient.

If you’d like to help, donations can be made at gofundme.com/f/finding-a-home-for-cian