Fundraiser for family of Greek fire victim
A PRIEST and family friend of the tragic newlywed who perished in Greek wildfires has backed a new fundraising campaign to help the family.
Brian O’ Callaghan We strop ph ad been on his honeymoon in Mati, east of Athens, when the fires broke out on July 23. His wife, Zoe Holohan, who works in the advertising department of the ‘Sunday World’, faces up to two months in hospital in Athens, where she is undergoing treatment.
Mr O’ Callaghan We strop p’ s mother, Rosemary, had already suffered the loss of her only other child, Colin, in a motorbike accident in 1997 when he was just 21, and her husband died when the boys were young.
Family friend Fr Shay Casey has endorsed the new fundraising page which has been set up to support her.
The idea for the fundraising page came from a Navan-based company which wanted to do something to help after reading about the tragedy. The site has been set up with no fees or charges and all funds will go to Ms O’Callaghan-Westropp. It comes in the wake of a fake fundraising page being set up last week.
Fr Casey said: “I would be most grateful to anyone who is able to make a donation.”
The page is being run in parallel with a separate donation page on the GoFundMe website, which was set up by Brian’s college classmates, and is focused on providing support for his wife, Zoe. The Brian O’Callaghan-Westropp Memorial page had by yesterday afternoon raised €7,040.
Mr O’Callaghan-Westropp was originally from Killaloe in Co Clare, but lived and worked in Dublin.
The remains of Mr O’Callaghan-Westropp will be flown home when they are released by the Greek authorities. Fr Casey said: “It is hoped to hold a memorial service for Brian in Killaloe in the near future.”
To make a donation visit www.ecomm-pay.com/brian