‘The love that people have for Sean is mind blowing’
By William O' Connor
THE family of Sean Cox say its ‘mind blowing’ the support they have received from the local community following a charity fundraising match between Round Tower GAA Club and the Irish Prison Services at Monastery Road two weeks ago.
Sean Cox’s brother Peter was presented with a cheque for €5,200 from the proceeds of the charity match and he could not thank the community enough for all their support.
Over 400 people turned out to watch the charity fundraising for Sean, who was seriously injured in an unprovoked assault while attending a Champions League semi-final against Roma in Liverpool last year.
“Fantastic, mind blowing what people have been doing for Sean, I can’t thank them enough,” Peter Cox told The Echo.
“It has been a very long tough road, especially the first three months, but Sean is making improvements and that’s keeping us strong together as a family.
“The love that people have for Sean is mind blowing, we went over to thank the people of Liverpool for their great work and generosity and the people back home have been unbelieveable”.
Peter Cox received a cheque from Round Tower chairman Ed O’Malley and Jessica O’ Malley (pic: Tommy Keogh)
The charity GAA match was played on Monastery Road – a stones throw away from the Cox family home.
“The game was very emotional with the family house just across the road from where the game was played. Sean’s such a loved person in Clondalkin, and in Round Tower where, he was a footballer and manager with the club.”
Last Thursday, Roma fan Simone Mastrelli was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to the assault of Sean Cox outside Anfield in April. Mastrelli had entered a guilty plea, at Preston Crown Court.
Following the sentence Peter told The Echo: “The reaction to that is one of relief because he pleaded guilty so we don’t have to go through another court case again, because the first one was very very hard. We just want to put it behind us and concentrate on Sean getting better as much as he can.
“Sean is doing well, they are working hard on him in Dun Laoghaire, they are fantastic, everyday he is getting a few words and there is a little improvement.”
Round Tower chairman Ed O’Malley said: “We are very grateful to everybody who so generously gave towards our collections. The people of Round Tower and Clondalkin have demonstrated tremendous solidarity with Sean and his family. The generosity of local people shows we are all behind Sean and his family and are wishing him the very best in his rehabilitation.”
Sean suffered very serious injuries when he was injured in an unprovoked assault in Liverpool last April.
