A CLARE COMMUNITY is rallying to raise funds after a local man was injured in Australia.
35-year-old Liam Boland from Connolly outside Ennis was walking to meet a group of friends in Brisbane when the wooden railing he was resting on collapsed.
Liam toppled over and fell six metres to a concrete pathway below, sustaining serious injuries.
A group of passers-by were able to raise the alarm and he was transported to Gold Coast University Hospital, where after initial assessment of his injuries he was put into an induced coma.
His injuries include a significant spinal injury, various broken limbs and a broken pelvis.
He has also suffered a serious brain injury and, at first, was given only a 50/50 chance of survival.
The father of one has since woken up, but still has a long way to go.
Support
With that in mind, locals around Ennis and Brisbane have come together to raise funds for Liam, his partner Evelyn and his son Finn.
In Australia, his 60 co-workers will donate an hour’s work a week to his family until Christmas.
In Ennis, a group of 40 volunteers are holding a white-collar boxing night among other events.
Cathy Howard, who is organising that event, told TheJournal.ie that while Liam has a long way to go, the community is fully behind him.
“His mum and sister are over there with him. But the community hasn’t forgot him. We have people training every week until 30 September and are hoping to sell 1,000 tickets.
Where he is now is a lot better than where they had expected him to be.
Cathy’s husband Adrian is a friend of Liam’s and says the local businesses have rallied around. He works in the crash repair industry and says all the main car dealerships are sponsoring the fight night.
“He’s salt of the earth. There’s life and soul in him, always up for a laugh. Just a good, good guy.
“He’s not going to be able to go back into construction. He’s not going to be able to provide, so we’re trying to do what we can. There’s a group of us there, we go back a long way and this is what you do, I suppose.”
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