“My life is Liverpool. It means absolutely everything. I can’t put it into words. It’s just a complete escape. There’s absolutely nothing I love more.”
The heartbreaking video of Dáire Gorman’s emotional response to seeing Anfield for the first time left no room for doubt about the authenticity of his remarks.
The pre-match playing of You’ll Never Walk Alone brought tears to the eyes of the 12-year-old from Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, during his September visit to the stadium for the 3-0 triumph over Aston Villa.
It was the same for a large number of people who saw the video that went viral on social media.
“I couldn’t sleep the night before,” says Dáire. “It was an emotional breakdown as soon as You’ll Never Walk Alone played. I tried to sing a couple of words but they just wouldn’t come out of my mouth.
“I love the song, it has beautiful lyrics. The way my life has been, I always listen to it, and know I’ll never walk alone.”
Dáire was born with a rare condition called Crommelin Syndrome, which is thought to have been diagnosed in only a handful of people across the world.
He has no arms from his elbows down and is missing the femur bone in both of his legs, which means he is a full-time wheelchair user.
“Dáire is definitely one in a million, he has a massive personality,” says his mum, Shelley. “What he has come through over the last 12 years, and he is still smiling, is amazing.
“It’s like Liverpool Football Club is his best friend.”
Together with Ted Morris, chair of the Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association, the Little Blue Heroes Foundation—an Irish charity that seeks to assist families of children with grave illnesses—organized Dáire’s September trip to watch the Reds play.
Jürgen Klopp and the Liverpool team were among the millions of spectators whose lives he touched that day with his emotional reaction.
This was so significant that last weekend, the boss extended a personal invitation to Dáire and his family to return to Merseyside. This includes dad Kenny, who is also a big Red, and sister Aoife.
Dáire went back to Anfield on December 3, the United Nations’ annual International Day of Persons with Disabilities, to see his team pull off a stunning 4-3 comeback victory over Fulham.
The next day, the Gorman family was invited to the AXA Training Centre to meet with Klopp, who gave them a tour of the facility, and to meet various players from the team, including Luis Diaz, who was the Gorman’s favourite.