Former Celtic keeper Pat Bonner applauds Tartan Army as Scotland fans donate cash to children's charity in Ireland

Sport Against Racism Ireland [SARI] received £4000 from the Tartan Army Sunshine Appeal prior to Saturday’s Nations League match at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, which Scotland lost 3-0.

The TA Sunshine Appeal raises funds for good causes on every Scotland away trip. This was their 90th donation and takes their running total to £250,000 since 2003.

Bonner spent 19 years at Celtic and applauded the gesture. “As an Irishman living in Glasgow, I am well aware of the passion of the Scottish and Irish fans and I am delighted to witness the power of football with this donation from the Tartan Army Sunshine Appeal to SARI,” he said.

“The friendship between our fans has always been great and this is a wonderful gesture by the visiting supporters.”

Neil Forbes and Diane Doig of the TA Sunshine Appeal presented their cheque to Kerrie Clohessy from SARI, who run the Sheriff Street kids’ football programme at the St Laurence O’Toole Recreation Centre in Dublin city centre.

One of the footballers from the programme is nine-year-old Logan Grimes, an aspiring goalkeeper with dreams of playing for Ireland. He was also in attendance on Saturday and was thrilled to be a guest of the FAI and to meet Bonner.

“We chose SARI because of the particular nature of the problems that they help to tackle, especially considering the issues around racism and other forms of discrimination within sport in recent times,” said Diane.

“We’re really proud of the work all our members do, and the support we receive from all the Scotland fans for our appeals. This is our 90th consecutive away game where we’re helping a host-nation charity. We even managed to retain our unbroken run of donations throughout the pandemic when we weren’t allowed to travel anywhere.”

Clo