A fund set up in memory of a remarkable South Armagh woman continues to help those in need, almost 10 years after her death.
Ann McGeeney passed away in 2014 at the age of 52, but her family have set up The Ann McGeeney Fund in her memory, with grants continuing the selfless work she had carried out while she was alive.
The latest beneficiary are refugees and asylum seekers who are pupils at All Saints School in West Belfast, with a £2,000 grant given to the school, while over £8,000 has been given in total to five projects.
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Ann's husband Jimmy said he was delighted that her memory would be honoured through the charitable work that the Fund enabled.
"I was thinking about her recently given last week we marked International Women's Day and in many respects, Ann was the epitome of what IWD is all about - her life was dedicated to helping others," he said.
"Particularly those in the border areas, but also people who were facing hardship and difficulty.
"If there was someone elderly standing on the side of the road, she would pick them up, if there was a farmer needing a hand with cattle on the way home, she'd have stopped and helped out.
"She went through her career working right across the island, with hard to reach groups."
Jimmy said that her work often involved putting her own safety to one side in order to help others.
"She was never particularly aligned in any direction - she worked equally with dissidents as much as she did with those at the margins of the loyalist organisations, the Orange Order and everything in between," he said.
"Her whole life, even her voluntary activity outside of work, was still about community and setting up the community development side of the local GAA club."
Jimmy said that one thing that offered comfort in the days following Ann's death was the fuller picture he was able to get of her life.
"There were some lovely stories, young women coming forward and saying they would never have done what they did without Ann pushing them forward," he said.
"When she passed away, a number of her colleagues and friends approached me and said it can't end here, that they wanted to carry her legacy forward."
It was from there that the family contacted the Community Foundation NI to see what could be done and in 2015, the Ann McGeeney Trust was set up with their help.
"When we looked at what we would like to fund, we tried to focus the things that Ann was passionate about, peace-building, working between and across communities, supporting young women to achieve their potential and the same with young people," Jimmy added.
"All Saints was one of the things that really matched that criteria.
"It continues on and Ann lives on in people's memories and clearly our children want to keep that alive as well, so they're involved in the Trust too and her friends.
"Ann's still there in her spirit and this is a way of keeping that memory alive."
The £2,000 grant mentioned above has been awarded to the Friends of CBS group, which has gone towards boosting the opportunity of education for refugees and asylum seekers attending All Saints College, Belfast.
Speaking on the award, programme co-ordinator Conor Kennedy said: "Friends of CBS is currently attempting to meet the needs of a number of refugees and asylum seekers who currently have little or no meaningful access to education.
"At present, in Belfast, pupils drawn from Newcomer communities, aged 16-18 are facing serious barriers and challenges to GCSE & A-level studies.
"The vast majority of those who will benefit from this programme are currently living in hotel accommodation in various locations in Belfast.
"This funding will allow students to have time for reflection and to create work that will be exhibited to their host community, facilitating discussions on integration.
"This project would create a safe and familiar space for students to explore their identities, find creative relief and enhance their self-esteem, alongside supporting the work of All Saints College."
Holly, one of Ann’s daughters, describes why the fund remains important to all the family.
“The Friends of CBS is just one of the groups that have benefited from mum’s Fund over the years," she said.
"As a family, it means the world to us to work with the Community Foundation to see where the challenges are today in our local area and to think about how mum would have been so pleased to be able to still support these groups.
"We also love holding family events to raise money for the Fund, remember mum and then see the impact the grants make. Small things do make a difference and, as mum always said, these grants, small though they may be in value make important differences to the projects they support."
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