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Irish Mirror

Man who found thousands of euros blowing in wind stuns Gardaí with act of kindness

The man handed the money straight into Gardaí after he found it while driving with his lovely collie dog

In a heart-warming case of Irish honesty, a man in Westmeath who found thousands of euros blowing in the wind over a year ago shocked Gardaí with a stunning gesture of kindness.


If you were driving along the road and spotted hundreds of notes billowing in the wind, your natural inclination is most likely to pump the brakes and grab the cash, and while our minds might shift to the thought of some Hollywood film plot unfolding where mobsters track you down for their loot stolen from a bank, it is probably not going to turn out like Sam Raimi’s A Simple Plan or Danny Boyle’s Shallow Grave.


Over a year ago, on September 20, 2024, a gentleman from Westmeath was driving with his lovely collie dog when they saw a lot of cash blowing in the wind. He stopped his car and collected as much as he could and put it into his vehicle.


Now, this man, rather than stuffing it in his boot and booking first class tickets to the Bahamas, he did the honest thing and headed straight to Mullingar Garda Station to hand in the cash he had found.


When any item is found and handed in, it has to stay in the lost and found for 366 days and this gives time to try and locate an owner. After exhaustive efforts by members of Mullingar An Garda Siochana, no owner claimed the cash.

So in early October 2025 the finder was contacted, to let him know, as no owner had come forward within 366 days, he could rightfully claim the money. Last week the gentleman came to collect his money which was in the thousands.

Asked if he had any nice plans for the windfall, he said the whole amount would be donated to Guide Dogs for the Blind and Special Assistant Dogs. He said the reason why he is donating all of it, but to keep his anonymity, this reason will not be divulged, but to say it is lovely, is an understatement.

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A Garda spokesperson said: "Thank you for being such an honest gentleman, it pays to be such. An Garda Siochana would have liked to name the gentleman, but promised not."

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