Image: Facepainting at the Berkeley fundraiser. Photo by Niko Salvino.
The Berkeley fundraiser which took place last night in the Academy has raised more than €30,000 for the survivors of the accident, according to organiser Shona Dunleavy.
Thomas Kenny, Meg Ryan, Conall Caroll, David Byrne, Katie Dalton, Andree Lebraun, Kate Tunney and Shona Dunleavy were the group of students who decided to take fundraising for Berkeley into their own hands after their friend Clodagh Cogley was seriously injured in the accident on June 16th.
Shona, who is about to graduate from studying Commerce in UCD, was one of two UCD students in the group that organised the event following a brainwave by one of the group just three weeks ago.
“Obviously we’re in Dublin, we’re not over there with her [Clodagh] so we started thinking about what we could do. Then one of the girls came up with the idea of having a gig, so that was three weeks ago and that was it,” says Shona.
Shona and the group are friends with TCD student Clodagh Cogley, who is still recovering in San Francisco after the accident. Clodagh is said to have been “delighted” and “very impressed” with the event, and was in touch with some of the group over the course of the evening.
Mundy, Kodaline and Daft Funk were among the performers at the packed out event, which was hosted by Nicky Byrne across the three rooms at the Academy. The venue and the acts all put forward their services for free for the fundraiser, which was to raise funds for medical expenses for the survivors of the accident.
“The night went really, really well. It was really busy from about half eight or nine onwards, so we were delighted with the turnout. People came early which we were really happy about,” says Shona.
Shona will return to UCD in September to study for a Masters in Digital Marketing in Smurfitt Business School.
Four of the injured students remain in Santa Clara Medical Centre in San Francisco, while three others who were injured have since returned home. Five Irish and one Irish-American students were killed when an apartment balcony collapsed during a 21st birthday party in Berkeley, which has since brought about law reform in California.
A gofundme page set up by the group has so far received over €9,000 in donations. You can still donate to the fund here.
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