WATCH: This Roscommon woman’s views on Syrian refugees represent the “best of Ireland”

Paul Moore

Mary Gallagher has won plenty of plaudits.

The decision to provide Syrian refugees with a new home in the Roscommon town of Ballaghaderreen has widely been accepted in positive terms, however as stated before, there has been some issues of contention, the largest being the reported lack of consultation with the local TD’s and community.

Last night, Prime Time addressed this issue as they gave the people of Ballaghaderreen the opportunity to express their views.

In a heartwarming segment, the majority of people were more than happy to welcome the refugees and one woman’s compassionate comments really registered with viewers around Ireland.

For more than 40 years, Mary Gallagher has run the clothes shop and haberdashery in the town, and she’s being praised for her empathetic remarks on the issue.

“We were brought up to think that if somebody was needy — I’m not talking about someone who just come to work and they’re alright, they’re okay, they’ve money coming in every week. But if somebody is needy and they were driven out of their homes and you see a child being picked up in Aleppo out of the clay, how could you say no? You think of the people fleeing, drowning, all the different things that happened these refugees and you have to sort of make the right decision”, she said.

Here are Mary’s comments in full along with the views from some of her new admirers.

A woman in a small rural Irish town talking about Syrian asylum seekers. pic.twitter.com/wZ8Xpxwyta

— Colm Tobin (@colmtobin) January 12, 2017

After being moved by Mary’s compassionate words, some people have even remarked that she represents “the best of Ireland.”

I want to go & have a cup of tea with Mary Gallagher. What a wonderful woman. In fact, aren't the people of #Ballaghaderreen just brilliant? https://t.co/HFwPtzFAVf

— Colm O'Gorman 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🇮🇪 (@Colmogorman) January 12, 2017