Fr Phil Gaffney, David Coughlan (president) and Frank Dillon presenting the sleeping bags to IP asylum seekers Mustafa Naibzada (left) and Azmal Shah Hossain at Columb Barracks last week.

Lions Club donate sleeping bags to Columb Barracks asylum seekers

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Mullingar Lions Club have donated more than 100 sleeping bags to asylum seekers and refugees living in Columb Barracks to help them with the cold this Christmas.

As of October, there were 160 men living in 21 tents at the site.

Some of them are refugees from Ukraine while others are International Protection (IP) applicants from countries such as Afghanistan, Somalia and Zimbabwe.

Lions Club member Frank Dillon said helping out was the right thing to do. "The guys who are living at the barracks were finding it a bit cold, and we wanted to make life more comfortable for them," he said.

"The tents they were sleeping under would probably have been a lot more suitable for hotter climates, so we decided to help out."

A presentation was made last week to the residents of Columb Barracks, who were "delighted" to receive the donation.

"They loved them. These sleeping bags are good quality and are designed to keep you warm in conditions as cold as minus eight degrees," said Mr Dillon.

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