A charity set up in the aftermath of the 1987 County Fermanagh bombing to encourage peace in Northern Ireland has closed as its pensions liabilities have become unmanageable.

Spirit of Enniskillen Trust, with a staff of five, has a pensions deficit of £250,000, the solicitor handling the charity's liquidation advised. John Gordon of Belfast-based Napier and Sons said that the trustees met last Thursday (14 March) and came to the "unfortunate decision" to wind the 23-year-old charity up.

The charity has no other creditors than the Pensions Trust, Gordon advised. The charity's reserves, he said, are locked up in the charity's only property, which he advised would not cover the £250,000 deficit. After the sale of the property, Gordon estimates, there would still be a deficit of around £150,000. Staff will not miss out, however, as the Pensions Trust would cover the deficit, he advised. 

Gordon said he knows of around 20 charities in Northern Ireland in the same situation. 

Umbrella body 'acted swiftly' on pension debts

Nicva, the Northern Ireland umbrella body for the voluntary sector, also held its pensions scheme with the Pensions Trust, but the organisation told civilsociety.co.uk that it does not face closure and that it has taken on pensions specialist David Davidson as an adviser.

"When it became apparent that the Pensions Trust pension was in difficulties, Nicva and the Northern Ireland based organisations in the Pensions Trust scheme acted swiftly to close the scheme to new members in order to protect people currently receiving their pension and those saving for their retirement," Nicva advised.

"With those people and the financial security of our organisations in mind, we engaged expert advice and acted together to renegotiate the terms of the amount of debt we are all left to pay. This means that most organisations, including Nicva, are now in a secure position with manageable repayments," it added.

The body's chief executive, Una McKernan added that the situation for the Spirit of Enniskillen Trust and the recent closure of adult education charity EGSA should act as a "wake-up call" to charities to pay "sharp attention" to their finances.

"But that warning is cold comfort to the experienced and dedicated staff and volunteers and EGSA and the Spirit of Enniskillen. And it's no comfort at all to the real losers in all of this - the adult learners and the young people who will miss out on the life-changing experiences both organisations offered," said McKernan.

A treasured legacy

Spirit of Enniskillen Trust was launched by Gordon Wilson, the father of one of the 11 people killed in the IRA bombing in County Fermanagh. The charity worked with young people to harness an atmosphere of forgiveness by encouraging them to travel outside of Northern Ireland and use their experiences to encourage reconciliation when back home.

Wilson was a well-known peace campaigner in Northern Ireland, who died in 1995 aged 67. He famously said after his daughter Marie's death in the Poppy Day bombing: "I bear no ill will. I bear no grudge. Dirty sort of talk is not going to bring her back to life."

 

The charity's website has already been stripped bare of all of its information. Young people previously involved in the charity have taken to a new Facebook page built on Saturday (16 March) as a forum for past participants in the charity. The 'Spirit of Enniskillen Alumni' has almost 300 likes so far and a statement posted and endorsed by 375 volunteers of the Trust says:

"At a time of limited prospects for young people, [the charity] offered a rare opportunity for participants to lead change in their communities. It engaged the energy, idealism and commitment of young people to make a difference...

"The 375 individuals who endorse this statement wish to see Northern Ireland continue to progress. It is a tragedy that an organisation which was making a tangible contribution to this has not been saved. They wish to commemorate the legacy of the Trust and celebrate what it achieved. However as an organisation with much more to give, its premature and sudden closure is a great loss for Northern Ireland."

 

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