Burgers and blessings for faithful Gary who wrote to Pope

A Galway boy wrote to the Pope and asked to meet up for a burger and chips when he travelled to Rome with a local religious group.

And amazingly, while he didn’t get to tuck in with Pope Francis, the letter did have some effect, as it saw Gary Keaveney, who has Down syndrome, and his mum Anne, from Dunmore, invited for a private encounter with the pontiff.

Anne said: “Myself and Gary are involved with a local Christian organisation called Faith And Light, and when we organised a trip to the Vatican, he told me he was going to write to Pope Francis, tell him we were coming, and invite him out for a meal.