Lord Mayor praises people's generosity

Dublin: The Mansion House in Dublin closed for donations to the tsunami appeal last night, after accepting more than €180,000 from members of the public.

The Dublin Lord Mayor, Cllr Michael Conaghan, said he was overwhelmed by the generosity of people of all ages.

"On one day alone, we collected €49,000. That was phenomenal," he said.

One family had been saving for a holiday to Florida but cancelled the holiday so they could donate the money to the tsunami appeal, Cllr Conaghan said.

"Children were coming in with their money boxes. People were putting off spending money in the sales to support the appeal. It was just extraordinary."

The donations all went to the Irish Red Cross. Cllr Conaghan is now hoping to open books of condolences for the affected countries.

If the protocols are agreed with the foreign embassies, the books of condolence could be open by the end of this week.

"People seem to get comfort from talking about it," Cllr Conaghan said. "I think there is a need for books of condolence so that people can express those views."

Dublin City Council is still accepting donations at its district office and various libraries around the city.

A benefit concert for the Irish Red Cross was one of hundreds of fund-raising events held in the Dublin area over the weekend.

One of the organisers, Ms Nadine Earley, said a number of friends had come together to organise the concert for the charity.

The RDS concert included acts such as Shane McGowan, David Kitt, Ronnie Drew and the Dubliners and the Hothouse Flowers. Comedians included Joe Rooney and Karl Spain, with Dave McSavage acting as MC.

Neither the artists nor the RDS charged for the show so the total €30 ticket fee went to charity. Two paintings by Dublin artist Shane Sutton were donated and auctioned during the concert, raising €2,700 for the Irish Red Cross.

The group of friends also organised a marathon drumming session on College Green on Saturday, with street entertainers and face painters. Between both events, Ms Earley estimated that more than €50,000 was raised.

The Concern agency said thousands of euros had been raised when hundreds of people supported their walk on Dún Laoghaire pier yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Irish Red Cross is set to benefit from two concerts lined up for Vicar Street in February.

On February 1st, Bellx1, David O'Doherty, Mark Geary, Dr Millar, The Chalets and Eddie Bannon will perform while the February 2nd line-up will include David Kitt, Mundy, Jason Byrne, Turn, John Henderson, Dermot Carmody and Life after Modelling. Tickets from Ticketmaster.

The Irish-Sri Lanka Trust Fund has organised a Comedy Circus Special for Vicar Street next Sunday and a night at Shelbourne Park dog track on January 27th.