It was early in the morning of June 16. Thirteen students attending a birthday party at an apartment building near the campus of the University of California Berkeley were standing out on a fourth-floor balcony when the balcony suddenly gave way, plunging to the ground. Six died, including five from Ireland. The fifth held joint U.S.-Irish citizenship. Seven were injured.
Many had traveled to the Berkeley area on J-1 visas, allowing them to work in the United States temporarily.
The incident hit Ireland hard, but had no less an effect on local residents who came here from Ireland, and Irish-Americans as well.
On Sunday, local Irish emigrants and Irish-Americans gathered at Tir na Nog in Center City for a fund-raiser to help out the families of the students involved, with food and drink donated by Tir na Nog.
“We just felt that it was something nice to do,” said Máirtín O’Brádaigh, one of the event organizers. Speaking of his own journey and those of other Irish citizens who came to America in recent decades, he said, “We were all in that position 20 years ago.”
As if to reinforce the connection between the Tir na Nog event and the Berkeley tragedy, most of those who attended were young people, many of them Gaelic Athletic Association players, decked out in team jerseys.
Proceeds from the event will also be made to the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, which raises money to help families in these tragic circumstances.
You can donate via a special gofundme.com site.
Here are some photos from the event.
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