GARDAÍ IN WESTMEATH have praised an anonymous “gentleman” who saw a substantial amount of money “blowing in the wind” and decided to donate it to a guide dog charity.

On 20 September, 2024, a man from Westmeath (who has decided to remain anonymous) was driving with his collie dog when he saw “a lot of cash blowing in the wind”.

Gardaí in Westmeath said the man stopped his car and collected “as much as he could and put it into his vehicle”.

He then drove straight to Mullingar Garda Station to hand in the cash he had found.

In a post to social media, gardaí in Westmeath explained that when any item is found and handed in, it has to stay in Lost & Found for 366 days.

This gives gardaí time to try and locate the owner.

But after exhaustive efforts by members of Mullingar An Garda Síochána, no owner claimed the cash.

As a result, the man who found the cash a year earlier was contacted by gardaí this month to inform him that because no owner had come forward within 366 days, he could rightfully claim the money.

Last week, he came to the station to collect the money, which gardaí said was “in the thousands”.

When asked by gardaí if he had “any nice plans for the windfall”, he revealed that he would donate the entire sum to Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind.

And while the man told gardaí the reason why he had decided to make the donation, Westmeath gardaí have decided to keep this to themselves so that they can maintain his anonymity.

“To say it is lovely, is an understatement,” said gardaí of the reason behind the donation.

“Thank you for being such an honest gentleman, it pays to be such,” added gardaí in Westmeath.

“An Garda Siochana would have liked to name the gentleman, but promised not to.”