Video of Donegal man going viral as he stops TikToker in his tracks with life story

A video of a Donegal man has over a million views online after he floored a social media creator with his story and advice.

In a recent video shared by "Portrait Geek" on Instagram, an English street photographer stopped a sharply dressed man on the street for a quick portrait and what followed was a moment of unexpected wisdom.

The man, 84-year-old Paddy Walsh from Donegal, was asked about his biggest regret. His answer was simple but really struck a chord.

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Paddy told Alex, “I understand that you will regret it if you don’t keep going with this. It sounds like a very good, project.” What makes the exchange even more powerful is that Alex later revealed he’d been on the verge of giving up photography altogether before meeting Paddy and the conversation completely changed his mind.

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Paddy went on to share his own story: he had once been training for the priesthood but fell in love, and he and his wife had a child. “They don’t like you to have married priests, so that made the decision really.” Despite it all, he was later allowed to continue “priesting,” and looks back with gratitude, not regret.

When asked what advice he’d offer young people, Paddy didn’t hesitate: “Go for it, do whatever you want to do just go for it in a way that harms nobody.”