HOSPITAL IS TOUCHED BY KINDNESS
Hospital is touched by gesture of kindness
By William Ryan
A TRUCKLOAD of flowers, fruit-baskets and soft toys arrived at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast on Saturday evening.
The items, gifts from people all over Dublin, were gathered by a Dublin-based group for the 27 casualties of the Omagh bombing still being treated in the hospital.
The 40-tonne truck consignment arrived shortly after President Mary McAleese and her husband Martin had left the hospital after visiting victims for more than an hour.
The president had earlier attended the open-air act of ' reflection in Omagh.
Gerry Carson, spokesman for the Royal Victoria Hospital, said that it was a "phenomenal gesture" and that staff "couldn't believe their eyes" when they saw the amount of items in the truck.
Mary Smith-Hinch, one of the organisers from the Dublin group, told the Irish News that they had been making trips to the north with gifts since last Monday.
"We had three cars full of gifts on Monday when we went to Omagh but it kept getting bigger and bigger and eventually we needed the big truck," she said.
The group advertised on ' radio, stating pick-up points for people who wanted to leave gifts for the victims.
The group has also set up a trust fund for the victims and families of the Omagh bombing, the Omagh Family Disaster Fund.
By William Ryan
A TRUCKLOAD of flowers, fruit-baskets and soft toys arrived at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast on Saturday evening.
The items, gifts from people all over Dublin, were gathered by a Dublin-based group for the 27 casualties of the Omagh bombing still being treated in the hospital.
The 40-tonne truck consignment arrived shortly after President Mary McAleese and her husband Martin had left the hospital after visiting victims for more than an hour.
The president had earlier attended the open-air act of ' reflection in Omagh.
Gerry Carson, spokesman for the Royal Victoria Hospital, said that it was a "phenomenal gesture" and that staff "couldn't believe their eyes" when they saw the amount of items in the truck.
Mary Smith-Hinch, one of the organisers from the Dublin group, told the Irish News that they had been making trips to the north with gifts since last Monday.
"We had three cars full of gifts on Monday when we went to Omagh but it kept getting bigger and bigger and eventually we needed the big truck," she said.
The group advertised on ' radio, stating pick-up points for people who wanted to leave gifts for the victims.
The group has also set up a trust fund for the victims and families of the Omagh bombing, the Omagh Family Disaster Fund.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0175
Published Date: 24-Aug-98
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