Ireland

Huge demand for Daniel O'Donnell flood benefit gig tickets

There has been a huge demand for tickets for Sunday's flood benefit gig in Letterkenny featuring Daniel O'Donnell and Nathan Carter among others
There has been a huge demand for tickets for Sunday's flood benefit gig in Letterkenny featuring Daniel O'Donnell and Nathan Carter among others There has been a huge demand for tickets for Sunday's flood benefit gig in Letterkenny featuring Daniel O'Donnell and Nathan Carter among others

THERE has been huge demand for tickets for a special benefit gig for victims of the north-west floods.

Some of the biggest names in Irish country music, including Daniel O’Donnell, Nathan Carter, Dominic Kirwan and Declan Nerney, are lined up for the concert at Letterkenny’s Aura Centre tomorrow (3pm).

It was organised to help those affected by flooding last week which caused millions of pounds worth of damage in Donegal, Derry and Tyrone.

Aine Temple, operations manager at Aura, said staff had been overwhelmed by inquiries about tickets since plans were unveiled just five days ago.

“We had Nathan Carter here earlier this year and that was a charity concert as well but the demand for tickets for this one is surpassing that one," she said.

"People are buying tickets just because they want to help the flood victims but there’s also a lot of people attracted by the line-up."

Tickets are on sale at Aura, on Ticketmaster and from other outlets in Donegal, and the gig is expected to be a sell-out.

Ms Temple also said many people have been phoning the Aura Centre to make donations.

“We’ve had people saying they did not want to take a ticket away from anyone else but wanted to contribute money to the fund."

That generosity has been echoed north of the border where Derry and Strabane mayor Maolíosa McHugh paid tribute to those helping flood victims.

"The council has been inundated with requests from non-statutory agencies and volunteers offering their assistance and we are happy to sign-post any of these organisations to charities on the ground who are working to identify people’s needs and provide assistance,” she said.

Derry and Strabane council said more than £350,000 has been paid out to householders affected by the floods, with additional payments due next week.

As the clean-up continues, the Loughs’ Agency has appealed to anglers to help catch rainbow trout which escaped into the River Strule at Newtownstewart when a hatchery flooded.

A spokesman said that although not native to Irish rivers, rainbow trout are perfectly safe to eat.

DAERA also confirmed yesterday that it will help farmers in the Glenelly and Owenkillew valleys with the disposal of animals killed in the flooding.

In Donegal, the local council is still working to rehouse 15 of the 50 families registered as displaced.

A spokeswoman said it is working with the families to find a solution which meets their needs.

The council also revealed that the Irish army hopes to have a “bailey bridge” in place on the main Quigley’s Point to Carndonagh road for Monday evening.

The temporary structure will replace a bridge washed away in the storms.