Over €150k handed over to Arts Centre

A grand total of €155,210 was officially handed over to Tullamore Community Arts Centre last week. The money was raised as a result of a fundraising raffle last April, which saw some 4,000 people from Tullamore, Offaly and further afield contribute to help make the possibility of an arts centre for Tullamore become reality. The total falls some 25 per cent short of a fundraising team target of €200,000 however, and plans are afoot to make up the shortfall in the near future. Speaking at the handover last week fundraising committee chair Des Doyle thanked all who got behind the draw. He paid tribute to his committee, in particular Paddy Fenning who he said demonstrated great leadership in driving it forward. He also paid tribute to the arts centre board, who behind the scenes have been working tirelessly. Speaking afterwards fundraiser Paddy Fenning said he was proud of all those who supported the draw as well as the 130 ticket sellers. Tullamore Town Council chair Lar Byrne added that the number of people who have driven the efforts for an arts centre so far "shows how badly needed it is". If you would like to get involved with fundraising efforts you can email info@tullamorecommunityartscentre.ie or call 057 9357400.