Ireland played Brazil in a series of stirring four-a-side matches yesterday as a tribute to the two Brazilian men who died in the south Galway village of Gort earlier this month.
Photographs of Erly Rodrigues da Silva (44) and Roberto Perna Ramos (27) were displayed during the soccer tournament organised by the local Gort community and their Brazilian neighbours.
The two men, both related and from Anapolis in the central Brazilian state of Goias, had been in the south Galway town for less than a year when they were both found dead, believed to have been overcome by fumes from a home heater.
Fundraising events have been held in Gort to help pay for the return of the men's bodies to their families.
The events were spearheaded by Gort Chamber of Commerce, and plans are afoot to help finance homes for the men's families back in Brazil.
Brazilians comprise about 25 per cent of Gort's population, since a meat factory owner began recruiting in Goias.
Donations for the two men's families are being accepted through an Allied Irish Bank account in Gort. The sort code is 937118 and the account number is 25722267.
