Swiss legal wrangle delays Manuela monies for Galway

Date Published: {J}

By Bernie Ní Fhlatharta

There will be an indefinite delay in spending monies raised in Galway for the Manuela Riedo Foundation on local projects because of queries over monies raised in Switzerland.

On Saturday, Fiona Neary of the Rape Crisis Network Ireland confirmed that the monies raised in Galway, believed to be in the region of €48,000 were secure and would in time be spent on a number of projects locally for the Galway Rape Crisis Centre.

Increasing demands on the Rape Crisis Centre service means there’s a waiting list for counselling and funds will most certainly be spent on a Crisis Counsellor.

At the weekend, Hans-Pieter and Arlette Riedo visited the Galway Rape Crisis Centre and met with some of the centre’s personnel to discuss a number of projects that could and will eventually benefit from funds from the Foundation, which was established over a year ago in memory of 17 years old Manuela Riedo who was raped and murdered in October 2007 by Mervue man Gerard Barry who is serving a life sentence for the crime.

Hans-Pieter told a Press Conference in the Salthill Hotel that though it had been difficult for them to come to the city at the start, it was getting easier, thanks to the number of friends they had made.

“It was tough for us to go to the crime scene at first but it gets easier every time and coming here helps the healing process,” he said through an interpreter.

For legal reasons they couldn’t comment on the Swiss situation where Irish publican Brendan McGuinness and founder of the

Manuela Riedo Foundation has resigned from the Foundation following queries over €11,000 raised through a concert held in his Basel pub. The situation there is being investigated by a charities monitor but until the situation is clarified, the Galway monies cannot be dispersed.

However, Ms Neary reassured that the Galway funds were secure and would be dispersed appropriately and that part of the Riedos’ private visit to Galway this week was to meet and visit the Galway Rape Crisis Centre to discuss how this money would be spent

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.