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Charity gala aids Omagh families

THE special fund for families of the Omagh bomb victims was set to benefit by more than £100,000 last night through an event in Dublin.
About 1,000 guests were at a charity gala staged by the Eire grocery industry in the headquarters of the Royal Dublin Society.
The funds being raised were being topped up by an auction of items that included a jacket signed by Northern Ireland's Formula One motor-racing driver Eddie Irvine, outfits by Eire designer John Rocha and holiday trips to South Africa and New York.
Among those attending the gala were Colin and Wendy Parry, whose son Tim was killed in the 1993 Warrington bomb blast, as well as the parents of eight-year-old Oran Doherty, one of the 29 Omagh victims.
Also there, to receive the cheque on behalf of the Omagh Fund, was the Co Tyrone town's District Council chief executive John McKinney. He said: "Around £2 million has already been pledged for the fund, which is being officially launched tomorrow."
Eire Prime Minister Bertie Ahern recorded a video message to the gala, which was shown on a giant screen.