The weather isn’t great, the evenings are dark and there seems to be nothing but bad news coming at us from every quarter, so its nice to see this heartwarming story gain such traction this evening on social media.
An Garda Síochána Westmeath shared a tale of a man and his dog and the cash they saw blowing in the wind.
“On 20th September 2024, a gentleman from Westmeath was driving with his lovely collie dog when they saw a lot of cash blowing in the wind. He stopped his car and collected as much as he could and put it into his vehicle,” they shared on social media.
“He drove straight to Mullingar Garda Station to hand in the cash he had found. When any item is found and handed in, it has to stay in Lost & Found for 366 days and this gives time to try and locate an owner. After exhaustive efforts by Members of Mullingar An Garda Siochana, no owner claimed the cash.”
“So early October 2025 the finder was contacted, to let him know, as no owner had come forward within 366 days, he could rightfully claim the money.”
“Last week the gentleman came to collect his money which was in the thousands. Asked if he had any nice plans for the windfall, he said the whole amount would be donated to Guide Dogs for the Blind and Special Assistant Dogs.
“He said the reason why he is donating all of it, but to keep his anonymity, this reason will not be divulged, but to say it is lovely, is an understatement.”
“Thank you for being such an honest gentleman, it pays to be such. An Garda Siochana would have liked to name the gentleman, but promised not to. Written with the permission of the Finder,” the post concluded.
The story has been liked and shared thousands of times with hundreds of comments also praising the man’s “honesty and generosity”.
“We always tend to hear about the bad folk but it is refreshing to know that the vast majority of people are inherently decent and honest. Massive credit to this gentleman,” one person said.
“Nice to read a bit of news with a good ending. It still proves there’s a lot of good people out there,” and a “thank you from a family and school who benefit from the work of the Irish Guide Dogs,” were other comments.
“As a mum to a child that will one day have his own guide dog I thank you for this wonderful deed. What a most generous gift you have passed on,” was another appreciative post.
Some readers shared their own memories, with one posting: “Many, many years ago my brother and I found a 10 shilling note while walking home from school. My mum took it to local Garda station and a year later mum got it back. She bought my brother and I a Parker fountain pen each. And believe it or not I still have mine”.
The final word goes to the man who quipped: “I’m moving to Mullingar where you can find cash just blowin’ in the wind.”