A fundraising event for St Francis Hospice will take place to mark the 30th anniversary of the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin.
Guerin’s shooting on June 26th, 1996, was a watershed event in recent Irish history and led to the setting up of the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) and a renewed focus on drug gangs.
The commemorative event will take place at the Convention Centre Dublin on Friday, June 26th – the 30th anniversary of her murder.
Entitled Truth and Transparency, it will feature a performance by Riverdance and Taoiseach Micheál Martin will attend.
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Announcing the event on Sunday, Marie Therese Brannigan said her sister should be remembered as “very loving, very caring, a wonderful mother, daughter, sister and wife.
“She just gave her all to everything that she did and was always full of fun. She was absolutely fearless.
“She would let nothing stand in her way. We still miss her so much. It’s unbelievable to think it’s been 30 years.”
Brannigan said the Guerin family hoped to raise a lot of money for St Francis Hospice. Tables of 10 are available at €5,000. The family hope that 50 tables will be taken, potentially raising €250,000 for the hospice.
Veronica’s brother, Jimmy Guerin, said it was the first time the family had got together to organise such an event in her memory.
His sister’s high profile in The Sunday Independent had given the public the impression that they knew her, making her death at the age of 36 all the more shocking, he suggested.
“People have often said to me that she gave her life. She didn’t. Her life was taken from her,” he said.
“The Criminal Assets Bureau is part of her legacy. I think her son [Cathal Turley] is part of her legacy and the fact that she never got to see her grandchild is tragic.”
Turley, her only child, was six when his mother was murdered. He now lives in Dubai.
St Francis Hospice chief executive officer Fintan Fagan said the funds raised from the event would go towards the building of a new inpatient unit at the hospice in Raheny, north Dublin.
This will comprise of 24 individual en-suite rooms which will provide extra space for patients and their families.
St Francis Hospice currently has 24 beds in Blanchardstown and 19 in Raheny. The vast majority of the 590 patients on the books of St Francis Hospice are treated within the community.
“There is a growing need for palliative care across north Dublin and we want to make sure that we can provide it,” Fagan said.
“We are privileged to be part of honouring and celebrating Veronica’s life.
“We estimate nearly 10,000 patients and their families will be cared for over the next 25 years in the new inpatient unit.”
