MORE THAN 15,000 people gathered at Thomond Park rugby stadium in Limerick last night for a major fundraising event in aid of the Shane Geoghegan Trust.
The trust, which was set up in memory of the murdered Limerick rugby player, kicked off its biggest fundraising drive with a star-studded soccer match between Premiership side Sunderland who took on a Munster XI.
Organisers hoped last night’s event would raise up to €50,000 for the Shane Geoghegan Trust, which was established to provide children with an alternative to criminal behaviour by making sporting and cultural activities available to them in their communities.
Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn described last night’s match as a “win-win” for everyone. He also paid tribute to Mr Geoghegan’s mother Mary.
“It’s a win-win for everybody and it’s a great game for us to play. But deep down, the night is a tribute to Shane, and it’s not just all about the past and what happened but it’s about what’s going to happen in the future in Shane’s name,” he said.
“Mary Geoghegan is a tremendous woman, such a powerful woman, out of such adversity to give the shot of hope that this trust needs and for her to support it and to allow it to come this way,” he continued. “She is a remarkable woman. The whole family deserve really big credit.”