The quick-thinking driver of the taxi rushed to a local Garda station to help save the man’s Christmas blushes
Garda James with Conor who almost lost his Christmas shopping just before the big day. Photo: An Garda Síochána
A man in Dublin narrowly avoided a “worst nightmare” Christmas scenario thanks to the help of Gardaí.
Local man Conor had been out shopping for Christmas presents for his family in the early hours of Christmas Eve when he loaded a taxi full of his bags.
However, in a brief moment of forgetfulness, Conor exited the taxi without taking the presents with him, only realising his error as the vehicle drove away.
To make matters worse, the driver who brought him home was now finished for the night and would not notice the bag full of Conor’s purchases until the next morning when he awoke for his shift.
Thankfully, there was enough Christmas cheer in the air for the driver to decide to bring the gifts to Store Street Garda station in the hope Gardaí could trace the owner.
In a post to its Instagram page, An Garda Síochána paid tribute to the garda responsible for reuniting Conor with his Christmas presents.
“Lucky for Conor, Garda James was on the case,” the post said.
“Conor too had gone to a Garda Station to report his lost property. Garda James began trawling through all the reported lost property incidents in Dublin to find a possible match for the presents in the bags. He found Conor in just a few minutes.
“Garda James called Conor up to get confirmation that the bags he had were the same that had gone missing. A couple of hours later, and just in time for Christmas, Conor had gotten all of his family’s presents back, just as he had left them.”
Commenters under the social media post were quick to heap praise on the taxi driver who went out of his way to get the presents back to their rightful owner.
“Think all credit is actually needed for the honesty of the taxi man,” one commenter said.
Another wrote: “Well done to all including the taxi driver”, while another lauded him for being “very honest”.
“That is such a lovely story, fair play Garda James,” one user wrote in recognition of the garda’s vital contribution to the joint demonstration of seasonal goodwill.
Another commenter left a humourous nugget of advice for future Christmas shoppers like Conor.
“Moral of the story maybe though, don’t leave your Xmas shopping until Christmas Eve,” she wrote.