Cinema fundraiser for Berkeley fall survivor Jack gets full house
15/7/15 Vicky Carse, Hazel Curran, Shaunna Lee Lynch and Eavan Healy, Rathmines at a movie night fundraising event for Jack Halpin who was injured after falling from a balcony in Berkley, Calafornia, at the Omniplex cinema in Rathmines. Picture:Arthur Carron
15/7/15 Carl Molony, Rathfarnham at a movie night fundraising event for Jack Halpin who was injured after falling from a balcony in Berkley, Calafornia, at the Omniplex cinema in Rathmines. Picture:Arthur Carron
15/7/15 Fionntan Larney, Cain O'Neill and Sam Carse at a movie night fundraising event for Jack Halpin who was injured after falling from a balcony in Berkley, Calafornia, at the Omniplex cinema in Rathmines. Picture:Arthur Carron
Jack Halpin pictured in his hospital bed in California
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A student who was seriously injured in the Berkeley balcony collapse is said to be recovering well by friends.
Last night, a movie fundraiser was held for UCD student Jack Halpin (21) in the Omniplex in Rathmines, Dublin.
Carl Molony (21), a close friend of Jack’s who arrived at the scene of last month’s collapse in California shortly after it happened, said the fundraiser was for a fantastic cause and that there were more fundraisers on the way.
“Jack is doing really well, he’s going through therapy at the moment. It will take a few weeks but he should be flying back soon enough,” Carl told the Herald.
Jack Halpin
Jack worked at the cinema for more than three years before travelling to the US for the summer.
A special screening of the Disney/Pixar film Inside Out was shown and Julie Fogarty, a close family friend of Clodagh Cogley, who was also seriously injured in the fall, praised the fundraiser for its originality.
“There are a lot of fundraisers where you just send money but this way you get something for your money too, which means people are much more likely to come,” she said.
Omniplex general manager Colm Kenny said Jack’s colleagues decided that they “wanted to do something to help when the bad news came through”.
Tickets for the fundraiser sold out so quickly that the cinema decided to open a second screen to meet demand. Tickets for the screening were priced at €10 each, with many local restaurants and businesses donating prizes for the fundraiser raffle.