GENEROUS parishioners at a west Belfast church have raised £5,000 for a charity which assists families of Irish people who have died abroad.
At Mass in Clonard Monastery on Sunday, Fr Noel Kehoe presented Colin Bell, from the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, with a cheque on behalf of parishioners.
Colin Bell and his family set up the trust in memory of his 26-year-old son, who died in a suspected hit-and-run in New York in 2013.
In a post on Facebook, Clonard Monastery said: "The money was raised as part of our Christmas crib appeal. Delighted to be associated with such a good man who together with his family helps so many families tragically bereaved."
Mr Bell said he was delighted to get the call from fellow Newry man Fr Kehoe.
He said: "Fr Kehoe is from Newry and he contacted me before Christmas to say that this was the first time they were going to hold a Christmas crib appeal in Clonard and that they wanted to donate the money to us.
"We were delighted. The money comes in and it goes out - last week alone we helped three bereaved families."
After a huge amount of money was raised in Newry to repatriate Kevin's body, the funds left over were used by his father Colin to assist other families who had a loved one die overseas in sudden or tragic circumstances.
Since then, the charitable trust has provided assistance to more than 100 families faced with similar tragedies abroad.
Last month it assisted the family of Niall Quinn, the south Armagh man who died after falling from a boat in Australia.
In June last year the Trust was also involved in helping families bereaved by the Berkeley tragedy, when five Irish people lost their lives after a balcony collapsed at an apartment in the US city.
