GAA DONATES �750,000 TO OMAGH FUND
GAA donates �750,000 to Omagh Fund
THE Omagh Fund received its second largest single donation - a cheque for �750,000 from the Gaelic Athletic Association of Ireland.
At a special ceremony in the St. Enda GAA Clubrooms, Omagh, the president of the GAA in Ireland, Mr. Joe McDonagh, handed over the cheque to the Fund manager, Mr. Brian Oliphant and trustrees, Dr. Clifford McCord and Mrs. Joy McCormack.
The significant donation represented the culmination of a major fund raising exercise by the GAA countrywide and abroad to help alleviate the suffering of the victims of Omagh.
Contributions were made by clubs, provincial councils, the central council of the GAA and proceeds from the re-fixed Clare versus Offaly all-Ireland hurling semifinal.
At the presentation, Mr. McDonagh said the August atrocity in Omagh and the suffering of the victims had touched the minds and hearts of GAA members everywhere.
"I am proud that my organisation at all levels had responded so generously and I hope the contribution will be of help in a tangible way," he added.
And he went on: "I visited homes of victims and attended so many of the tragic funerals in the days subsequent to the tragedy. They are a sad and poignant memory that will stay with me forever."
The presentation was attended by executive members of the GAA at county, provincial and Irish level, as well as representatives of the host club, Omagh District Council and Fund trustees.
Omagh council chairman, Sean Clarke, said the contribution from the association represented the extensive fundraising efforts from the membership the length and breadth of the island of Ireland and from the international membership.
Mrs. McCormack, after receiving the cheque for the Fund, thanked the GAA for the exceptionally generous donation.
"This donation will substantially increase the Omagh Fund to �4.2 million and is the second largest donation to date, second only to that made by RTE television and radio," she said.
She went on: "The donation is even more staggering considering it is the culmination of local fundraising at hundreds of individual GAA clubs throughout Ireland. The logistics of this would have taken considerable time and effort."
THE Omagh Fund received its second largest single donation - a cheque for �750,000 from the Gaelic Athletic Association of Ireland.
At a special ceremony in the St. Enda GAA Clubrooms, Omagh, the president of the GAA in Ireland, Mr. Joe McDonagh, handed over the cheque to the Fund manager, Mr. Brian Oliphant and trustrees, Dr. Clifford McCord and Mrs. Joy McCormack.
The significant donation represented the culmination of a major fund raising exercise by the GAA countrywide and abroad to help alleviate the suffering of the victims of Omagh.
Contributions were made by clubs, provincial councils, the central council of the GAA and proceeds from the re-fixed Clare versus Offaly all-Ireland hurling semifinal.
At the presentation, Mr. McDonagh said the August atrocity in Omagh and the suffering of the victims had touched the minds and hearts of GAA members everywhere.
"I am proud that my organisation at all levels had responded so generously and I hope the contribution will be of help in a tangible way," he added.
And he went on: "I visited homes of victims and attended so many of the tragic funerals in the days subsequent to the tragedy. They are a sad and poignant memory that will stay with me forever."
The presentation was attended by executive members of the GAA at county, provincial and Irish level, as well as representatives of the host club, Omagh District Council and Fund trustees.
Omagh council chairman, Sean Clarke, said the contribution from the association represented the extensive fundraising efforts from the membership the length and breadth of the island of Ireland and from the international membership.
Mrs. McCormack, after receiving the cheque for the Fund, thanked the GAA for the exceptionally generous donation.
"This donation will substantially increase the Omagh Fund to �4.2 million and is the second largest donation to date, second only to that made by RTE television and radio," she said.
She went on: "The donation is even more staggering considering it is the culmination of local fundraising at hundreds of individual GAA clubs throughout Ireland. The logistics of this would have taken considerable time and effort."
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1356
Published Date: 27-May-99
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