Brendan O’Carroll has won BAFTA and IFTA entertainment awards for his television comedies,but in April of this year he joined the fight for justice in the developing world by supporting Trócaire, the overseas development agency of the Catholic Church.
The Irish comedy legend hosted a one-off night of entertainment at Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on 17 April to support Trócaire’s work overseas, raising almost €50,000.
The event was organised by multi-award winning producer, director, Riverdance founder and Trócaire Ambassador John McColgan who recently presented a cheque to Trócaire for €49,230 from the proceeds of the night.
Commenting as he received the cheque, Seán Farrell, Director of Trócaire’s International Division, said, “The event produced by John and with free time given by Brendan O’Carroll and the cast was a real success. The substantial funds raised will continue to allow Trócaire to work in some of the poorest communities in the world. This work saves and changes lives and to those who give of their time and money to make this all happen, we owe a real depth of gratitude.”
John McColgan recently travelled to the West Bank and Gaza as part of his role as a Trócaire ambassador, to document the lives of people living a daily reality of military occupation and economic blockade. This Is Palestine is the resulting documentary which documents McColgan’s journey and features powerful interviews with the people he met along the way. Released in June 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of the occupation of the West Bank and the tenth anniversary of the blockade of Gaza, the film shows the urgent need for a renewed effort to bring a lasting peace to all the people of this region.
For more on Trócaire’s work see www.trocaire.org.
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