Anthony’s appeal raises €66k

A special cheque presentation was made by Paddy O’Sullivan from Kilcummin for €66,000 to the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust at Kilcummin GAA Club recently.

The money was raised following the death of Paddy’s son, Anthony (33), who died suddenly in his sleep in Australia on November 5, 2017. In the days after Anthony’s death his friends rallied together to set up a ‘Go Fund Me’ page to cover his repatriation and burial costs.

The fund quickly surpassed its target of €30,000 within days and Paddy said he was ‘ overwhelmed’ at the generosity and support received by so many people.

The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust is a charity that helps to alleviate the financial hardship of bereaved families repatriating the remains of loved ones who have died abroad in sudden or tragic circumstances.

Anthony was a well-known DJ in his time and worked in the Grand Hotel in Killarney and at weddings throughout Kerry.

He worked at The Coogee Bay Hotel in Australia where in the days after his death a gathering of over 300 friends organised a walk along the famous trail from Coogee to Bondi in his memory.

Speaking to The Kerryman, Paddy said: “I have no words to describe the support that Anthony’s friends in Australia and at home have given him.”

Anthony was buried with his mother Sheila.

Photo by Michelle Cooper Galvin Paddy O’Sullivan (second from left) presenting the cheque for €66,000 to Colin and Eithne Bell for the Kevinbell Repatriation Trust with (right) Daniel O’Leary (back from left) Killian, Enda, Stephen, Patrick and Darragh O’Sullivan in Kilcummin.