UH/0617

FUND REACHES £424.000
BY: ADRIAN MULLAN

Almost £270,000 paid out
MONEY is still coiming into the Omagh fund, however, whilst pledges of monies totalling millions have been made by various organisations and individuals, many of the pledges have yet to be realised.
In some cases money has been raised but has not yet been transferred to the fund, for example, the Derry City Match against a Mick McCarthy select side has been played and it is only a matter of time until the revenue raised is transferred to the Omagh Fund.
Similarly concerts in the Waterfront Hall, the screening of the Celtic Story and a function on the held of the Dublin Retail Association have all produced significant sums which will in due course be transferred to swell the Fund.
Fund Manager, Brian Oliphant, has pointed out that £267,600 has been paid in interim and hardship payments to the bereaved and injured.
Mr Oliphant said that those in charge of the fund are keeping up the pressure to ensure that 'things happen', and expressed some concern that there were people injured in the blast who had not come forward, and with whom the Fund administrators have had no contact. He requested that those persons contact Lisnamallard House on 259575 at their earliest opportunity.
Last week, a delegation from Omagh including representatives of the local Council and the Fund visited Madrid, accompanying the party, a local solicitor and his wife presented envelopes containing cheques to the Spanish families affected by the bomb.
Mr Oliphant stressed the need to keep up the momentum and to ensure that pledges of support are realised, he intimated that there was the danger of complacency, commenting; "Pledged money and real money are two different things." Thus far £424,000 has been received by the fund and of that figure £267,600 has been paid out.
He said that the morale of the people working on the fund was very good and that despite the trials of recent days, the community had pulled together. So much so that the community of Omagh is more united than at any juncture in its history.
At present the five trustees are working with a team of four secondees at Lisnamallard House; monies pledged to the Fund include around one million pounds from the GAA, a substantial but undisclosed sum from actor Liam Neeson, who is donating damages received from two Court settlements. Additionally, there are several funds in Ireland and abroad and a series of concerts, and other events, being held on an almost daily basis, the funds of which, when realised could amount to over £2 million.
The Fund administrators are also in the process of of recruiting volunteer visitors. There are already four people visiting affected families and more are being recruited.