The family of Killygordon toddler Caolan Melaugh have been stunned by a €6,000 donation from footballer Seamus Coleman today.

Caolan Melaugh was diagnosed with stage four cancer – a high-risk neuroblastoma – at just 10 weeks of age. He endured an incredibly tough first 15 months of life which included chemotherapy, surgery, stem cell transplant, radiotherapy and six months of immunotherapy.

Communities across Donegal have repeatedly rallied around to fund his treatment over the past two years and rose again to the task when he relapsed last year. A new call for help went out this week from fundraiser Gerard McConnell.

Everton and Republic of Ireland star Seamus Coleman has supported the fund for the two-year-old’s life-saving treatment with a €6,000 boost.

The highly-respected player from Killybegs made the donation to the Caolan Melaugh GoFundMe page and left the message “Best wishes Caolan x”

Caolan’s family have been overwhelmed by the generous act from Coleman, who they say has supported their cause on many occasions. They posted a heartfelt message of gratitude to Facebook tonight:

Fundraiser Gerard McConnell told Donegal Daily that the donation caught him completely by surprise “I nearly fell off my stool when I saw a donation of €6,000 coming in this morning from Seamie Coleman.

“That is just such a wonderful thing for him to do, to think he took the time to read Caolan’s plight and to be so generous then with his money.

“That will help enormously, we are all so thrilled. We’d like to thank Seamus and everyone else who donated so far from the bottom of our hearts,” he said.

The appeal for donations continues as Caolan battles Relapse Neuroblastoma.

Relapse Neuroblastoma has no known cure and there is a 10% survival rate, so his Mum Stacey, 28, and Dad Gerard, 33, are being forced to seek further treatment outside of Ireland, “to give Caolan the best chance at life that every little child deserves,” according to Stacey.

“We know that so many other very sick children and teenagers are pleading for treatment funds and we do realise that people can only do so much. But all Caolan knows in his short life is ill health. He hasn’t gotten the chance to live the normal life of a boy his age

“The only way we can do this is to ask people to support us by fundraising, we just cannot do it alone. The odds are stacked against him but he is so strong and nothing holds him back. He is a normal fun loving little boy, he is learning every day, he loves life.

“We are awaiting results from a full set of work up of scans just completed in Crumlin, from there we hope to be in a position to seek the best possible treatment for little Caolan. Time is running out and we need to act fast, so please help us in anyway you can we would be so, so, so, so, grateful,” Stacey said.

If you would like to support Caolan log onto: https://www.gofundme.com/Little-Caolan-Treatment-Fund