A WARRENPOINT charity launched a new support fund for women at a special conference it hosted in the town on Friday.
The Ann McGeeney Trust Fund made the official announcement for the fund – a collaboration with Community Foundation Northern Ireland (CFNI) – at the ‘Looking Back, Reaching Forward, Challenges and Opportunities’ event in Warrenpoint Town Hall.
The charity was established by the family and friends of the late Ann McGeeney – who was originally from Cornonagh, a small townland outside Crossmaglen – after her passing in September 2014, with the aim of continuing her legacy of community development, peacebuilding and social justice, and supporting projects that empower women, build stronger communities and promote peace and reconciliation.
Opening the conference, Holly McGeeney Murray said that her mother’s “resilience, kindness and leadership continue to guide us today”.
“No matter the challenges we face, Mum remains our role model – showing us how to lead with strength and compassion, she will always be our great inspiration,” she added.
Council chair Pete Byrne described the conference as “a really important event”, and acknowledged that it is “getting more and more difficult” to help people who are “desperately in need of help”.
“That is why it is so important that this trust was set up and continues to flourish, because small funds can go a long, long way,” he stated.
“I truly, truly believe that we all have the ability within ourselves to help each other – it shouldn’t come to that, as we should have support from local and central government, but, as community groups coming together, we can do so much to help each other.
“That small fund will go a long way to helping somebody on their journey, and anything I can do to support that over the coming year, I will absolutely do.”
Keynote speaker Bronagh Hinds, Founder of DemocraShe, said that she was really pleased to have received the invite to deliver the main address.
“I wanted to focus what I was saying around what Ann was dedicated to – working with and for communities in deprived areas, working across the border, supporting peacebuilding, working tirelessly to address the barriers facing women in Northern Ireland and Ireland, and inspiring them to be confident, to reach their full potential and make a difference,” she said.
A panel discussion focused on women’s rights issues followed, and this featured Ms Hinds, Roisin Wood (CFNI CEO), Dr Marianne O’Shea (Assistant Professor, Maynooth University) and Betty Carlisle (Shankill Women’s Centre CEO), and was hosted by the conference’s host, broadcaster Lata Sharma.
The Women’s Fund was then launched by Ann’s husband Jimmy Murray and Ms Wood.
“Ann was the one that took risks, went against the norm in making things happen and making a difference in people’s lives, and it is all of those things that we want to encapsulate in this new fund,” said Mr Murray.
“It is about taking the chances and risks, making the difference to people’s lives, giving people opportunities to change their own lives in small ways.
“The fund is not a big fund, and I am very grateful to CFNI for trusting us and working with us and sharing with us in terms of making the fund available.
“It will be a small amount of money and small grants, but if we can change the lives of 30, 40, however many individuals, that in itself will be a lasting legacy in terms of making that difference to people’s lives.
“So, if you know somebody or if you come across somebody that you think could benefit, encourage them, support them, bring them along.”
Ms Wood highlighted that the fund opens on Monday (23 September), that the bursary will be between £300 and £500, and that it is aimed at helping those who are “trying to overcome some difficulties to try to get back into employment through education or through other things”.
“The whole allocation process will be pretty flexible – we are a very flexible funder and we are not going to ask you loads and loads of questions,” she stated.
“We are really looking at how can we fund women who have got significant issues, be they refugees or asylum seekers or people who have not been in education for a long time.”
In the conference’s closing remarks, Daisy McGeeney Murray said: “I want to thank you all for coming to this event, because it really does mean so much.
“The attendance here today has been unbelievable.
“I want to thank our panel – the insights we got from you today were invaluable.”
She finished proceedings with a heartfelt poem about her mother that began with the line “Mum is the reason we are all here today.”
Applications to the new Women’s Fund can be made at www.communityfoundationni.org from Monday onwards.