Limerick's Willie O'Dea is 'celebrity' sponsor of 'awestruck' girl on her Confirmation Day
CAROL Walsh gave her daughter Kiera the choice of 10 family and friends to be her sponsor on her Confirmation Day but the one she wanted was Willie O'Dea!
Carol, of Dooradoyle, said all her three children - Rebecca, aged 20; Tom, 18 and Kiera, 12 - have been fascinated with the Fianna Fail politician.
"We were living in England for a while and when we came back there were posters up for an election and Willie O'Dea was on one of the posters. Around that time my son happened to see Willie walking through town - he was fascinated that he saw a celebrity from the posters walking through town.
"Then he was canvassing here seven years ago and he knocked at the front door and my daughter Kiera opened the door. She she was awestruck immediately. Ever since the she just loves him!" said Carol.
About a month before Kiera's Confirmation in Our Lady Queen of Peace Carol gave Kiera a list of 10 family and friends to be her sponsor.
"She was like, 'No, I want Willie O’Dea'. My brother David is a bit of a joker so he messaged Willie on Instagram to ask him would he stand for Kiera but got no reply. Then one Sunday I was driving into town and I saw Willie out walking near Mary I so I pulled up.
Roll on last Friday and Mr O'Dea met the Walsh family outside the church and did his Confirmation sponsoring duties. The role of the sponsor is to present the candidate for Confirmation.
"All her friends loved it. Nobody believed her when she said Willie O'Dea was going to be her sponsor. Kiera was awestruck again.
"My niece Bonnie came up to me and asked, 'How do I get him to be my sponsor at my Confirmation?' The children love him. He's a wonderful person and we'll be forever grateful for him making Kiera's day so special," said Carol.
Mr O'Dea told Limerick Live he was only happy to oblige
"The mother said her daughter was an admirer of mine and would I stand as her sponsor for her Confirmation. I said if I was around Limerick on the day I would. I was glad to do it. They are a lovely family and I got on very well with them," said the former minister for defence.
It isn't first time the veteran Fianna Fail politician has got a strange request. Back in 2007, the Fix it Friday segment of Ray D'Arcy's show on Today FM granted the wish of a young woman who wanted to sit on his lap and stroke his moustache.
What is it about Mr O'Dea that attracts these unusual requests?
"To be honest with you I have absolutely no idea! There was another girl about a month ago and her parents asked me to go her birthday party in a pub. I went to the birthday party and we had a great night. You do get these unusual requests from time to time like the girl who wanted to sit on my lap on the Ray D'Arcy Show - it doesn't happen every day but it happens occasionally," said Mr O'Dea.
Cllr Catherine Slattery, who shared David Walsh's post (above) on her social media, said it was a fantastic thing for Mr O'Dea to do.
"In fairness to Willie if he can do something for anyone he will do it and especially for the people of Limerick. He was delighted to attend Kiera's Confirmation and be her sponsor. He'll probably be inundated with people looking for them to be his sponsor now and he probably won't say no to no one," laughed Cllr Slattery.