Town digs deep for trawler tragedy fund

A SPECIAL collection for the survivors of the Honeydew II trawler disaster and the family of a missing sailor has raised €7,500 in just 48 hours and is expected to grow rapidly in the coming days.

The Kinsale Trawler Tragedy Fund was opened at Allied Irish Bank in the West Cork town on Tuesday, and by yesterday morning it had received donations from all over the country.

The account has been set up to help surviving Lithuanian crew members Viktoz Lozev and Vladimir Kostyr, who were picked up from a life raft 20 hours after the vessel sank, and also to give support to the family of Polish crewman Tomasz Jagla who is still missing along with the ship’s skipper Ger Bohan.

According to local solicitor, Virgil Horgan, the fundraiser was set up by the Kinsale Community Association following a meeting last Sunday evening.

“We have to do something for these people,” he said, pointing out that Mrs Jagla and her young family had been left with little income by the accident, while the two seamen were penniless after coming back to Kinsale.

Mr Horgan said there have been three €1,000 donations from people in Kinsale as well as a number of smaller donations.

He added a considerable amount has also been received from contributors in fishing communities in West Cork.

Mr Horgan estimated that the fund will be kept open for six weeks. Donors are is asked to lodge to the AIB in Kinsale. The sort code is 934089 and the account number is 04161182.

The name of the account is the Kinsale Trawler Tragedy Fund.