Group asked to explain how grant was spent

The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that it has asked an historical group in Drogheda to explain how a £20,000 grant was spent.

The Department says the money was to be used to develop cross border links.

A spokesman for the department says that £20,000 was given to the Old Drogheda Society in 1999 through it's reconciliation fund to develop links with the Abbey Historical Society in Newtonabbey in Co Antrim.

He says the current committee cannot account for the cheque and does not know how it was spent.

He confirmed that the society has been asked to carry out an internal investigation and produce a detailed account of how the money was spent.

However Pat Hanratty, the chairman of the Old Drogheda Society, says it was the society which brought the matter to the attention of the Department.

This was after it had received a smaller cheque from the fund in September of this year.

Mr Hanratty said that the society was co-operating fully with the state agency on the matter but added that further comment would be inappropriate.