Hundreds of people turned out in Killybegs for the homecoming ceremony for Republic of Ireland star Seamus Coleman.
It was a proud night for the fishing town, who turned out in huge numbers to welcome home their most famous export.
Coleman captained Ireland in their famous victory over Italy, and again was handed the armband for their clash against France.
That ultimately ended in defeat, but Coleman had a fine campaign, and is expected to captain Ireland for years to come.
The crowd heard how he has inspired a whole generation of young people in the town, and that the only word to describe what the town felt was ‘pride’.
Coleman said he was overwhelmed by the support and the reception he received, and said it was hard to put into words how much it meant to him.
Coleman said, “I just want to thank St. Catherine’s FC and Killybegs GAA club for their role in my development as a player, I couldn’t have asked for better people to have coached me throughout my career.
“The morals I learnt at those clubs have served me well, and there still the same morals I have now.
“That’s helped me so much, and I want to thank the two clubs, I can’t thank each and everyone of you enough for coming out tonight and for the support you’ve given me.
“It’s been incredible to be over there fighting for my country and fighting for my town, and I’ve been trying to make the town proud.
“I want to thank everyone for organising this for me tonight, I honestly can’t describe to you how much this means to me, people from my own town coming out to support me like this, it’s just incredible, thank you so much.”
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