‘Our debs organiser vanished with €8,000’

MEGGAN Boyle is one of thousands of Cork students who were stung by events organiser Pat Browne.

She and her debs organising committee from St Brogan’s College in Bandon, handed over €8,000 in cash to Mr Browne at a meeting in Bandon earlier this year as payment for organising their school’s graduation ball later this month.

Up to 120 students and partners were to attend the event at Silversprings Moran Hotel on August 28. They each paid €100 for tickets to cover the venue, security, decorations, food, a band and a DJ.

But Meggan said they haven’t seen or heard from Mr Browne for two months and their money has vanished.

It emerged last Friday that Mr Browne failed to pay Silversprings a booking deposit to secure their event on August 28.

They along with almost 3,000 other students from 17 schools across the city and county are in the same situation.

“We were shocked when we found out what was happening,” Meggan said.

She said they contacted the Rochestown Park Hotel last September to discuss holding their ball there.

The hotel suggested they speak to Mr Browne, who specialised in organising such events.

Meggan said they were still considering holding their ball at the Rochestown Park Hotel until December when Mr Browne contacted them to say he was moving the event to another hotel.

“He said he might move us to Silversprings because Rochestown weren’t offering what they used to,” she said.

But suspicions mounted in February when Mr Browne was uncontactable for three weeks.

Over the next few weeks, the hotels provided four different mobile numbers for Mr Browne.

And just a few weeks ago, the situation came to a head.

“One of our organisers rang Silversprings to see if the hotel was booked. They said they were having trouble getting hold of Mr Browne too,” she said.

It was then the students decided to report the matter to gardaí in Bandon.

Meggan praised Silversprings for stepping in to save the graduation balls but she criticised the Rochestown Park Hotel for recommending Mr Browne despite concerns.