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Omagh bomb survivor appointed to Board of Northern Ireland Memorial Fund

OMAGH bomb survivor, Donna Marie McGillion, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Northern Ireland Memorial Fund, the
charity that provides support to victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
The 14-member board, which includes Pat Hume, Daphne Trimble and Phil Coulter, is chaired by Dennis Licence, managing director, First Trust Bank.
Said Donna Marie, who lives in Killyclogher, with husband Garry and young child, and was badly injured in the Omagh atrocity of August 15, 1998: "I am very honoured to join the Fund's Board. For many survivors of the Troubles, it has now become the only source of financial and
practical help.
"To date, the Fund has spent £1.75m and has helped 3,000 individual victims. This includes small grants of up to £500, the provision of short breaks to over 600 people and grants of some £54,000 towards education or training programmes," said Donna Marie.
"The Fund has also provided financial assistance towards private treatment to individuals who are suffering chronic physical pain and the first state-of-the-art wheelchairs and artificial limbs for those men and women who received horrific injuries in the Troubles are now beginning to be
provided," she said.
Donna Marie added: "I am fully committed to furthering the work of the Fund and indeed spreading the word about its work. Much has been achieved since the Fund began, but there are many victims of the Troubles, particularly those individuals not involved in organised groups,
who are unaware of all the assistance available to them. Collectively the directors are seeking to address this and an Information Day will be held in Omagh's library on Tuesday, July 2, beginning with a presentation at 12.30pm."
"The Northern Ireland Memorial Fund is an independent charitable fund that seeks to promote peace and reconciliation by ensuring that those
individuals and families that have suffered as a result of the Troubles, are remembered by providing them with help and support in a meaningful and practical way," said a spokesperson.