Jersey for GAA star Aaron Devlin raises £15,000 for Meningitis Now

Aaron, who played for Derry and Ballinderry GAA, sadly passed away in the summer after contracting an aggressive form of the brain virus.

The jersey, which was designed by Aaron’s brothers Ronan and Coilin and his friend Matthew Nelson, was bought by 1,300 people.

“We were overwhelmed by the whole thing,” Ronan told the Mail. “It caught far further than we thought it would.

“I would like to thank anybody who gave a hand driving the roads delivering jerseys or packing. It was just great to see that side of people.”

As for the jersey itself, Ronan said he was proud to see it on youngsters and that the fact it was raising awareness of Meningitis and its symptoms, was especially important.

“If we knew then what we knew now, it might have been different,” he added.

Aaron’s friend Matthew Nelson, modelled his new jersey on Facebook.

“I actually can’t believe that I have one of these jerseys on my back. It feels like years ago that I text Coilín with an idea of getting some jerseys made up in memory of Aaron,” he said.

“Now I, and roughly 1,500 others have a jersey to remember the main man.

“To top it all off it looks like somewhere in the region of £15,000 to £20,000 has been raised for the charity Meningitis Now.

“So many people to thank, but the work that Collie and Ronan have done is absolutely unreal.

“Such a credit to Dook. Thanks to Jo Wilson and all the MN team for the work with the website too.

“What a legend this man is. ‪#‎dookiestyle‬ ‪#‎kindofabigdeal”

Meanwhile it has also emerged that Ballinderry Shamrocks are to pay tribute to their former player, by naming their new pitch after him.