The FAI have revealed that 17-year-old Ireland supporter Jamie Monaghan has been selected to accept the prestigious Medaille de la Ville de Paris from the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, which has been awarded to Irish fans for their "exemplary behaviour" at Euro 2016.
Jamie, from Togher, Co Louth, will pick up the award on behalf of Ireland fans at a special mayoral reception to be held in the French capital this week. He will be joined for the presentation by Chairman of the Confederation of Republic of Ireland Supporters Clubs, Joe McKenna.
The Medaille will also be presented by Mayor Hidalgo to Northern Ireland supporters at the same time.
The award will be presented at a special ceremony which will be held in the Fan Zone in Paris on Thursday July 7th, ahead of the semi-final match between France and Germany.
Jamie attended all four of Ireland's games at the tournament. The Liverpool and Drogheda United fan suffers from a rare genetic condition called Trisomy 9 mosaicism (T9M), which means he cannot walk or talk. But he can communicate well with others and is very sociable.
He travelled around France for Euro 2016 with his father Philip in a specially customised wheelchair, which the Ireland squad signed for him. He made French and Irish news during the tournament when his ‘Jamie on Tour’ flag was robbed outside a camper home he and his father were staying in before Ireland’s win over Italy on June 22nd. The story captured the public imagination in France and a local woman who found out about Jamie’s plight sent a new flag to him in Lille.
"Jamie is extremely honoured and proud to accept the Medaille de la Ville de Paris on behalf of the Republic of Ireland’s fantastic fans. This means so much to us," said Philip Monaghan.
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