LATE LATE SHOW FEATURES OMAGH
Late Late Show features Omagh
Hundreds of thousands raised for bomb victims
THE Late Late Show on Friday night which told the story of Omagh - three months on - was an emotional experience for the audience and viewers alike.
The Show invited some of the top names from the music business in Ireland to provide the music, which according to the affable host, Gay Byrne, is 'the language of emotion'.
The 420 strong audiences were from the Omagh area and Buncrana, and were given the opportunity to recount the August 15th bomb and the way they are coming to terms with the horrific injuries they sustained that fateful day.
The show ran a phone line which allowed viewers to pledge money to the Omagh Fund in any bank of Ireland. Throughout the show, the phone lines were jammed as people tried to get through to pledge their money and viewers were asked to be patient.
The fundraisng event was the brainchild of the Corrs, who felt that there was a risk of Omagh being forgotten and becoming another statistic.
In liaison with the veteran Gaybo, they rounded up all the big names including U2, Paul Brady, Daniel O'Donnell, and Brian Kennedy, who gave outstanding performances on the night. The Corrs themselves sang a beautiful rendition of REM'a 'Everybody Hurts'.
Earlier in the day, the Corrs had, in their own words "hit on various Irish companies", and managed to come up with �150,000 for the Omagh Fund.
After a touching performance of North and South of the River, U2's Bono told the audience "The only grain of hope that we can glean from this terror is the thought that this has to be the end of it and that was the day the Troubles ended -we have to believe that".
And Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, vowed to the people of Omagh that as long as he lives he won't let there be another Omagh.
It is believed the money raised is running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. The Late Late Show office did not want to put a figure on it at the moment as the money is still coming in.
The 'Herald' has been contacted this week by a number of local people who are not happy with the way the tickets were allocated for the Late Late Show.
One of the callers was injured in the bomb and whilst she had no desire to go on the show, she was annoyed by the fact that she and many others were not even asked.
She said the audience included many people who were not injured or bereaved by the bomb, and she asked the question 'Did they not feel guilty taking their place in the audience at the expense of many who should have been there?'.
Local councillor, Johnny McLaughlin also spoke to our office this week and said that some bereaved people, including Lawrence Rush, had been excluded from the invited guest list.
He said the people had felt snubbed and excluded because of the situation.
Mr. McLaughlin said that one bereaved mother was forced to request a place on one of four buses commissioned to transport guests, after hearing about the show.
"This is totally unacceptable and humiliating causing deep offence. The bereaved people of our town should command centre stage in everything associated with the rehabilitation and recovery of our town and all that entails".
Lawrence Rush described the whole scenario as 'a free for all'. "Tickets on this gravy train have been snatched up by the godfathers of Omagh, determined to grab a slice of the action at every media opportunity" he said.
Hundreds of thousands raised for bomb victims
THE Late Late Show on Friday night which told the story of Omagh - three months on - was an emotional experience for the audience and viewers alike.
The Show invited some of the top names from the music business in Ireland to provide the music, which according to the affable host, Gay Byrne, is 'the language of emotion'.
The 420 strong audiences were from the Omagh area and Buncrana, and were given the opportunity to recount the August 15th bomb and the way they are coming to terms with the horrific injuries they sustained that fateful day.
The show ran a phone line which allowed viewers to pledge money to the Omagh Fund in any bank of Ireland. Throughout the show, the phone lines were jammed as people tried to get through to pledge their money and viewers were asked to be patient.
The fundraisng event was the brainchild of the Corrs, who felt that there was a risk of Omagh being forgotten and becoming another statistic.
In liaison with the veteran Gaybo, they rounded up all the big names including U2, Paul Brady, Daniel O'Donnell, and Brian Kennedy, who gave outstanding performances on the night. The Corrs themselves sang a beautiful rendition of REM'a 'Everybody Hurts'.
Earlier in the day, the Corrs had, in their own words "hit on various Irish companies", and managed to come up with �150,000 for the Omagh Fund.
After a touching performance of North and South of the River, U2's Bono told the audience "The only grain of hope that we can glean from this terror is the thought that this has to be the end of it and that was the day the Troubles ended -we have to believe that".
And Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, vowed to the people of Omagh that as long as he lives he won't let there be another Omagh.
It is believed the money raised is running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. The Late Late Show office did not want to put a figure on it at the moment as the money is still coming in.
The 'Herald' has been contacted this week by a number of local people who are not happy with the way the tickets were allocated for the Late Late Show.
One of the callers was injured in the bomb and whilst she had no desire to go on the show, she was annoyed by the fact that she and many others were not even asked.
She said the audience included many people who were not injured or bereaved by the bomb, and she asked the question 'Did they not feel guilty taking their place in the audience at the expense of many who should have been there?'.
Local councillor, Johnny McLaughlin also spoke to our office this week and said that some bereaved people, including Lawrence Rush, had been excluded from the invited guest list.
He said the people had felt snubbed and excluded because of the situation.
Mr. McLaughlin said that one bereaved mother was forced to request a place on one of four buses commissioned to transport guests, after hearing about the show.
"This is totally unacceptable and humiliating causing deep offence. The bereaved people of our town should command centre stage in everything associated with the rehabilitation and recovery of our town and all that entails".
Lawrence Rush described the whole scenario as 'a free for all'. "Tickets on this gravy train have been snatched up by the godfathers of Omagh, determined to grab a slice of the action at every media opportunity" he said.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0677
Published Date: 26-Nov-98
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