Berkeley tragedy: Successful ‘Fun Raiser’ for Aoife Beary

Sombre it was not, even if awareness of the Berkelely tragedy was on all minds at the well attended Aoife Beary Fun Raiser tag rugby competition in Donnybrook stadium on Saturday.

Aoife was celebrating her 21st birthday at a Berkeley apartment in California last month when a balcony collapsed killing six young people and injuring seven. She remains in a serious condition and is receiving treatment in California for a brain injury.

How could such an event be sombre with all those hundreds of young people taking part and teams with names like ‘D4 Dazzlers’ , ‘Thrown Together’, ‘No Woman No Try’, ‘Dirty Mike and the Shemales’, ‘Pathetic Athletic’, ‘Tagless in Seattle’, ‘Wolves of Westport’?

In all 32 teams were involved. Just 24 were expected, an indication of the overflowing genorosity which characterised the day.

Among the teams, of course too, were the 'Beary All Blacks'. And 'Double Scrum and Coke', in which The Irish Times placed great hope.

Managed by Cian O'Higgins of outstanding reputation, its seven men and five women were captained by Michael Kilty and Liza Fitzpatrick, a boyfriend/girlfriend team. They had won every game before speaking to this reporter and hoped to be overall winners.

A short time later, as Michael Kilty walked off the pitch, he announced "...we're gone!" They had lost, The curse of The Irish Times had struck again. "...and now I'm going to donate at the bar," he said. And he did.

Double Scrum and Coke were not untypical of Saturday's teams. Cian O'Higgins and team member Patrick Dempsey had themselves been in Berkeley on JI visas, in 2009. Lisa Fitzpatrick is related to the Beary family.

The real winners on the day though were the irrepressible ‘Team Aoife’, who organised the event, the rugby, sold raffle tickets, served teas, coffees, desserts, burgers, corn on the cob, dealt with media and met visiting dignitaries.

Many were members of or related to the extended Beary family, and friends. Such as Carly Canniffe. "I'm really overwhelmed with the support and how great everyone has been," she said. By lunchtime they had exceeded their target of raising €10,000.

All meat for burgers etc, desserts etc, were donated by local businesses in south Dublin. Team Aoife member Noireen O’Hanrahan Geraghty said that in approaching people she had “met nothing but incredible goodness.”

It was the case that “we Irish have so much heart to give.” And, she said, “....there is no middleman.” Every cent collected would be spent on “giving as much life as we can to Aoife.”

Meanwhile Noreen’s husband and barbeque chef for the day, Brendan, made occasional appearances from behind beef-flavoured swirls of smoke that at times looked like the mist that sits on Croagh Patrick.

US ambassador Kevin O’Malley remarked on the “happy, hopeful crowd.” He felt “it’s important I think that we all still stay together during this recovery process.” It was “difficult for the families. There’s the healing that’s needs to happen, for the students who are recovering, for the families of the deceased students that need to heal, so I think that the more support that we can give them the better.”

The significance of the tragedy was not lost on people in the US, he said. It was "evident in the outpouring of Irish Americans in the Berkley area and just regular old Americans that understood what it was like for the students in the US and for the parents and their loved ones and the families here in Ireland. "

He was “really encouraged to see it, and I can’t tell you how many people who were there in Berkley who thanked me for what the outpouring of emotion and support my countrymen showed.”

There was a minute's silence for all the dead and injured of Berkeley before the final began, between the modest D4 Dazzlers and Tagless in Seattle. Winners were the D4 Dazzlers and medals were presented by Leinster and Ireland rugby player Seán O'Brien. Meanwhile details of an online auction for signed Irish rugby jerseys and a rugby ball, as well as tickets for the Ireland - Scotland match on August 15th, are at the Aoife Beary Fun Raiser Facebook page.

The mood of the day was probably best summed up by a message in the Book for Aoife there which anyone could add to. It read 'Aoife, you've left footprints on all of our hearts." That extends far too. Another read "even people from Cork are here to support you...." Another began tartly "Hey Beary....praying for you everyday." It was signed by a guy, who added lots of Xs