Market Square gig will help humanitarian relief in Gaza
Funds raised through a music event on the Market Square in Mullingar on Saturday, December 23, will help humanitarian relief in Gaza.
The event was organised by Deputy Robert Troy, and the amount raised has been confirmed as €3,237 in total.
Musical performances from tenor Emmet Cahill, local members of Comhaltas, Music Generation Westmeath and Mullingar Town Band marked the occasion.
Mulled wine and baked goods were donated by Wines Direct and Wholesome Kitchen respectively.
The money raised will go to Doctors Without Borders to provide medical care directly on the ground in Gaza.
So far over 20,000 people are reported to have been killed in Gaza at the hands of the Israel Defence Forces.
Deputy Troy explained his motivation for organising the fundraiser. “We are appealing to people’s good nature at Christmas time to give as much as they can to people who are in a much worse position than we are here,” he said.
“Obviously, we have our own challenges in Ireland and nobody is disputing that, but our challenges pale in significance when you compare it to bombs raining down on innocent people and lives being lost.”
The Fianna Fáil TD thanked the sponsors, performers, volunteers, and the public for their “very kind generosity” in making the fundraiser a success.
“A lot of people have given their time and have been very generous,” he said.
“I want to thank the people for coming and for being so generous in terms of what they’re giving in buckets.
“It’s our way of doing something small to raise funds for what is an awful humanitarian crisis.”
Deputy Troy said Ireland has a proud history of resonating with humanitarian causes around the world. “We have a long tradition in terms of our defence forces on peacekeeping missions. We have a long history of our religious people going off to work on missions.”
He said the people Irish people in general are renowned for their generosity. “We are a race of people who like to give and we are a race of people who acknowledge that there are people who are much worse off in society than we are,” he said.
“It’s something to be proud of and I think today is some small demonstration of that generosity.”