FERMANGH REPRESENTATIVES…Guest of Honour Joan Wilson, wife of the late Gordon Wilson with Fermanagh participants in the Spirit of Enniskillen Trust Explore Programme. They are Ashley Robinson, Michael Richmond, Jillian Ellis and Donnchadh Tierney
A CHARITY which was set up as a living memorial to the 11 people who died as a result of the 1987 Enniskillen bomb, has been wound up due to lack of funding for its employees’ pensions.
The pension scheme which the Trust, and some 20 other charities were using had run up, it is believed, a deficit of £250,000 in pension provision.
Inspired by the late Gordon Wilson’s words of forgiveness, The Spirit of Enniskillen Trust was set up in 1988 by the then minister in the Northern Ireland government, Brian Mawhinney.
Every year, it sent young people from Northern Ireland abroad to witness, and practice, diversity in action.
In the 25 years since then, over 16,000 young people participated and volunteered in the Trust’s programmes, working in 100 international destinations and 50 schools.
Speaking this week to the Herald, its first chairman, Gerry Burns, former chief executive of Fermanagh Council, said its demise was not unexpected, given the problems facing it and other charities within the NI Charities Pension Fund.
“What has happened is that because of changes brought about by economic circumstances, there are problems not only as regards deterioration of assets but, also, with regard to the legal position of those funds.
“It is quite possible that a charity could finish up in a situation where it would have to bear very substantial liabilities.”
But, he revealed that Gordon Wilson himself did not expect the Trust to last more than 20 years.
“He felt that 20 years would make a big difference to the situation we were in at the time the Trust was formed.
“Yes, I do believe The Spirit of Enniskillen has touched a lot of people’s lives in one way or another, so in that respect, it has done good and made a valuable contribution.
“We focused on young people in the 16-19 years, and it would seem it was certainly popular among young people.”
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