Bono gets ball rolling at auction in aid of Darfur
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By Allison Bray
Saturday Dec 15 2007
A SIGNED drawing by Bono was one of the hot items up for grabs last night at a private charity auction hosted to raise money for Darfur.
The original black and white drawing was among a collection done by the U2 frontman and his teenage daughters, Jordon and Eve, which featured in a 2003 book and CD set based on the children's classic 'Peter and the Wolf'. The book was released as a fundraising project for the Irish Hospice Foundation.
The drawing was personally donated by Bono to his Killiney neighbours, Dublin businessman Brian Long (49) and his partner Olivia Gaynor (37), as part of the socialite couple's annual fundraising ball held in the ballroom of their Killiney mansion, Kenah Hill.
"We felt blessed that he gave it to us," Olivia told the Irish Independent yesterday.
Sculptor
Renowned American sculptor Nall Hollis flew in from his home state of Alabama earlier this week to donate a bronze sculpture.
The surrealist sculptor is among a who's who list of the rich and famous invited to the annual black-tie affair. But the hosts were keeping quiet yesterday about who was expected among the 300 guests attending the event last night.
"We've done this privately now for the past five or six years and we're not saying who's attending," said Brian.
However, a large contingent of Americans were expected among the well-heeled guests.
Some €26,000 had already been raised for the cause before even the first flute of champagne was poured.
- Allison Bray
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