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1. Benny the Bridgebuilder August 29th, 2009 8:27 pm

   @Bock

   This type of post is much more useful than the four letter word ones. Congratulations on reclaiming your role as the consumer’s champion.

   This is not in any way a cynical comment. I mean it.

   I look forward to progress reports on this issue.

   Well done.

2. Robert August 29th, 2009 8:31 pm

   A quite excellent post, great fact-finding, a cautionary tale to all.

3. Kae August 29th, 2009 8:53 pm

   And it’s shocking how many hospitals and other carer companies have been suckered into it.

4. problemchildbride August 29th, 2009 9:46 pm

   Great detective work, Bock. Nice one.

5. Robert August 29th, 2009 9:46 pm

   Kae, I think the problem there might be two-fold. In some cases, the hospitals mentioned have no knowledge of the link, and in other cases, a hospital is so desperate to fund-raise that they accept a great deal of offers without checks. I was going to make a pun about cheques and checks, but I didn’t.

   But I could have.

6. Bock August 29th, 2009 10:06 pm

   Benny — What four-letter ones are you referring to?

   Robert — These are just a few facts. Look into it and decide for yourself.

   Kae — Well, let’s wait and see. It could all be above board you know. Let’s ask the questions.

   Sammi — Thanks. Nice to see you back. We’ll keep picking at the scab.

7. C'est La Craic August 30th, 2009 11:18 am

   Well all i can say is that we at the La Craic Foundation for Sober Ex-Patriots (a debilitating condition that effects many of our nation’s immigrants [see link to make a donation]) have never had any problems with Manorcastle Ltd., as even we wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole.

   Great post.

8. norma stleger August 30th, 2009 1:00 pm

   I think i may have mentioned before that to register a charitable trust with the Revenue Commisioners is a very complex but vital route, all companies must be registered with the CRO, And presently there is a backlog in the CRO with the amount of new applications they are recieving.
   Firstly, all monies from the specific company must by company law be deposited in the bank a/c of the name registered to the CRO but if a company trades prior to completion of registration that is down to the revenue commisioners and its a catch 22 because as no returns have been made and the company does’nt strictly speaking exist there is rarely a penalty.
   As this is not the case here, A Director or Trustee of a charitable trust is not entitled to any payment, other than out of pocket accountable expenses., they cannot recieve payment for holding office.
   Tax exemption is granted only by the revenue commisioners and that can be withdrawn, even retrospectivly if the charity does not comply with the objects and conditions.
   Annual a/c’s must be kept and made available to RC’s at all times, income to registered charity of over 50k per annum must submit audited a/c’s.
   Personally i would always be suspicious of the appearance of extensive expenditure of budgets on colour brochures and the obvious ways in which too much of the charitable budget is wasted in the vanities of advertising. A genuine charity will find all the means and ways to access publicity free of charge, this is usually well facilited through various media means. I had never heard of the above charity before, only the trips to lapland and other places through the well known ” Share a dream foundation ”
   It definitly sounds very suss and that is very disturbing because genuine charities are really struggling at present, and to make genuine charity donaters suspicious of all charities is very sad, but having said that, i would always suggest that when you choose a charity to align yourself with, research as much as you can, because the key is the budget and how it’s managed, i have heard of some charities where admin costs are so inefficient and so high that only 10 cent in the euro actually reaches source, and thats not illegal just mismanagement.
   Thanks for the enlightening post.

   I

9. Darwin August 30th, 2009 1:57 pm

   I heard him on Joe Duffy, where he cried on air. Maybe I’m a sucker, but rather than him being a crook (not that you’re suggesting anything), I thought he seemed merely very badly organised.

   http://www.herald.ie/national-news/families-lapland-dream-shattered-1563275.html

10. Jimmy Bastard August 30th, 2009 2:08 pm

    Nice one Mr Bock, I’m impressed.

11. Bock August 30th, 2009 3:05 pm

    I’m not suggesting any dishonesty. I’m saying it all seems very inappropriate and strange.

12. chris August 31st, 2009 9:15 am

    limerick post ran an ad about same thing in entertainment section

13. The Geek August 31st, 2009 12:25 pm

    Mind you fancy brochure and all, they still managed to refer to the 3rd trip as the 3th trip?
    Maybe it’s just me being anal???

14. Bock August 31st, 2009 1:47 pm

    It’s full of things like that. This brochure was not drawn up by someone whose first language is English.

15. Cynical Joe August 31st, 2009 10:00 pm

    Never underestimate the stupidity of the general public. By the way, my uncle is the King of Lapland, and he wants to use your bank account to hide some of his cash from Santa Claus, who is always asking him to sponsor a new automated toy factory. Just send your bank details and a €1,000 admin fee to 1 The North Pole, and you’ll receive a few million quid and a personal elf sex slave. Con will collect them next time he’s up that way and deliver them to you.

    In general, if someone called Con tries to take your money, you might want to think about that. Hello? And if his sidekick is called Rommel, you should notice a fairly pungent rodent aroma in your nostrils.

    Un-fucking-believable.

16. Mike September 3rd, 2009 10:57 am

    Well done,

    This Con Murphy is [comment removed -- defamatory].

    Well done on the detective work, but there are quite a few gaps.

    Dont forget that “Con” was also a director of United Travel (Directors J.C.Murphy and A.L.Murphy) who brought misery to many unwitting Irish tourists who traveled with them. Interestingly Nobel tours trading as United Travel was wound up (due to a deluge of claims [comment deleted]) only to be replaced by Manorcastle Ltd, who conveniently trade as “United Travel”, same logo, etc etc. I’ve lots of further information if you interested just ask.

    Regards,

    Mick.

17. unstranger September 6th, 2009 3:42 pm

    They’re on facebook now, arranging a ‘charity’ gig in Limerick!

    http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=children+to+lapland&init=quick#/profile.php?id=1806772914&ref=mf

18. mule taker September 15th, 2009 6:08 pm

    They had dozens of their paid”volunteers”on the streets of Limerick today with the begging bowls.

19. liz September 17th, 2009 5:21 pm

    I’m very dissapointed with what is wrote down here about the Children to Lapland appeal. But then again how many of these so called people have ever helped this charity or any charity for that matter. I’m a volunteer fund raiser and this is a registered charity. I had a big gig in May for the charity so some sick Children from my own area could go on this once in a life time trip. They make me sick. Get up off ur fat arses and do something good for a change and then talk about it. Thanks

20. Bock September 17th, 2009 5:27 pm

    There’s no register of charities in Ireland. Children to Lapland Appeal Ltd is registered with the Revenue Commissioners for tax relief.

    Point out what is inaccurate in this post.

21. liz September 17th, 2009 5:34 pm

    what is CHY 14666 FOR THEN. All registered charities have to have a registered number

22. liz September 17th, 2009 5:36 pm

    I would love to know who the paid volunteers are out in limerick??? common give us names as you are so
    definite with your facts!! dont be a coward now?

23. Bock September 17th, 2009 5:36 pm

    The number you quote is a reference used by the Revenue Commissioners, who categorise certain organisations as charities for tax purposes. This is not the same thing as an official register of charities and people should be informed of this fact in case they thought otherwise.

    You’re being quite aggressive Liz to other commenters . Why is that?

24. liz September 17th, 2009 5:49 pm

    sweetheart I am not being agressive at all I am very lovable….. when you get to know me.
    the thing is I had friends out in limerick last 29th Aug who has given up their time to raise funds
    they did support and promoted the gig with the wrestlers out in County West hotel on the same date.
    they even went out with the wrestlers to visit the sick kids at the Regional Hospital and I was told the sicks
    had a brilliant time seeing their idols…..
    plus I also have a terminally ill brother who did avail of this as a child.

25. Bock September 17th, 2009 5:59 pm

    The points raised here aren’t about the people who raise the money.

    The questions are about the organisation behind the thing. Did you read this post at all?

26. Kae September 17th, 2009 6:48 pm

    @Liz, the post is not dumping on the people who are out doing their best to help these kids. The post questions whether the charity is legitimate at all – are you absolutely certain that when you hand in your money at the end of the day, that it is going where you think it’s going?

    Is it possible that you, yourself, are being used by the organisation? How certain are you that the money is not going into some fat cat’s wallet?

    How many kids do you know who have actually gone on this trip?

27. sean September 17th, 2009 9:36 pm

    A number of children from the south east have and Waterford gone to Lapland in the last two years. The Munster Express has participated in the sponsorship also to assist in getting more children to Lapland.

    Well known faces from TV, Music, Print and Fashion have become AMBASSADORS for the Children to Lapland TV3 Alan Hughes, Singers Brian Kennedy & Linda Martin, former Miss Ireland Aoife Coogan and Amanda Brunker hope to raise the much needed funds by going on a 50K WALK TO THAILAND and they need 100 walkers to join to reach their target.

    Alan Hughes said that if we get 100 Walkers to join on this trip we can send every child on the lists in all the Hospitals all around the country to visit their friend Santa this Christmas!

    Our aim is to take 100 walkers so I desperately call upon your kind help to make this happen. All of the proceeds from the walk will go towards taking an excess of 200 sick and terminally-ill children to visit Santa this Christmas.

28. Bock September 17th, 2009 9:41 pm

    This is spam from the Children to Lapland Appeal, confirming my opinion of them as a crowd of chancers.

    The full advertisement is here

    I see good old Rommel Montano is still working hard to send kids to Lapland.

    This poster’s details are as follows:

    email: emeraldcommunications@eircom.net

    IP address: 93.107.81.177

29. Fiona September 18th, 2009 11:27 am

    I have worked with this charity for the past 4 1/2 years and have been on 4 trips with the sick kids to Lapland, and to see what you all are writing makes me mad, we here @ the Children to Lapland Appeal are doing our very best to bring some sort of joy and happiness in to the lives of these terminally ill children and long term ill children, these children come with us to visit santa in Lapland and for this one day they can forget about their illness and enjoy being a kid, I have met many children over the years and sadly many of these children are no longer with us, I know from my side, the hard work that goes into raising the funds for these children is worth it when you can see their faces onbaord the aircraft and the excitment they are experiencing. Each year we aim to bring approx 200 children from the hospitals nationwide and we have some great supporters, I myself was in Limerick with a “Begging Bowl” and was not paid for my time or anything like it. Maybe you begrudgers should spend less time discussing the negative aspects and maybe come onboard and help us raise some funds…

    The main fact of the matter is that the Charity still bring Terminally ill children to Lapland each year and have done so for the past 18 yrs..

30. gabrielle September 18th, 2009 11:52 am

    Firstly, why make these comments under a suedo name, are you not brave enough to admit who
    you are!

    Secondly you should check your facts carefully before trying to slander a perfectly legitimate charitable organisations, who volounteers on the street (ALL UNPAID) stand out in all weathers to raise funds for
    these children.

    In 2008 180 long term ill and terminally ill children from all over Ireland to see Father chirstmas, and
    approximately the same number have travelled each year, for the last circa 19 years, since the Charity
    was established by Con Murphy and his mother Dr. Hilary Murphy, after one of nis newphews and her
    grandchildren contracted Luekemia, (which he has thankfully survived) and grown into a fine young man
    about to get married.

    With regard to Manorcastle Trading as United Travel, your facts are not even accurate here, in October 2008 the company’s licence was not renewed, as the Commission were unhappy that the company had not made a profit in 2007, not withstanding that the Company’s directors refinanced the company to make up this shortfall by a directors loan, which subsequently at the request of the commission was converted to share capital. The company had no option but to go for ajudicial review of the Commission decision within seven days of the refusal, which was eventually hear in the high court over two days in November, when the courts upheld the decision but suggested that the company should re apply and that the Commission should consider this. All of this was done immediately in early December, in order to secure a licence
    to operate the company’s programme to Lapland, including the Chairity flight, as the the Commission
    kept promising a decision day by day, and we answered any queries they had promptly, when it was realised that the Commission (for their own reasons) would not give a decision, the company had to
    cancel some of the earlier flights, and offered to every passengers alternatives, which many accepted,
    and the remainder of the flights were flown under the licence of Twohig Travel, financed by United Travel,
    whose staff were also seconded to administer the service, and all passengers who wished to travel
    did so and had a wonderful time, and 180 ill children travelled on the 17th December 2008 to meet Santa Claus, as our fund raising was affected by comments (like yours) Mr. Murphy himself sponsored most of the children from his own personal funds as it is not the objective of the Charity to dissappoint these children.

    Again ref refunds your facts are totally inaccurate, the only passengers refunded from the Bond, by the
    Commission were four passengers who had booked through Driftaway Travel, who ceased to trade early in 2009, the company requested on numerous occassions from the commission their directions in this matter as United Travel had no direct contact for them, but for some reason the commission would not give this information, (not withstanding they were in possession of this information. (it should be noted that under the relevant Act – the bond should not be drawn on unless the company concerned refuse or are unable financially to meet its obligations – which clearly was not the case, and the commission were aware of this
    as they had sight of all the financials of the company including bank statements etc.) The balance of the bond, less expenses etc. (which have yet to be quantified by the Commission) has been returned to the Company, and there are no further liabilities to customers from the company. This can be confirmed by the commission.

    In total approximately 200, passengers who either decided not to travel or were unable to avail of the offered alternative flights, were refunded by United Travel from company funds, bar the four previously mentioned.
    So again it is entirely untrue to say that company had 1,100 disappointed customers. This can be confirmed by the commission for Avaiation Regulation.

    In fact the commission only came to a decision on all the company’s applications on 11th May 2009, and this is again the subject of a high court review. This can be confirmed by the Commission.

    I fail to understand anyhow, how any matters partaining to United Travel should be relevant to the charity.
    Mr. Murphy is not the treasuer of the Chairty but is the Chairman of the Committee sent up to run the Chairty, Mr. John Mullany B. Com, F.C.A. is the auditor to the Chairty, CHY 14666 which submits its complete accounts to the REvenue each year as required.

    REf. Manor health I do not see the relevance of this in relataion to the Charity this company is not yet a trading company.

    Manorcastle Ltd. T/A is not a failed or ceased entity, in fact it will now (due to the lack of licence) trade as a ground only supplier (supplying Hotels, transfers etc. in many destinations world wide both to the trade and to individual clients) this does not require a licence from the Commission for Aviation Regulation, as this is only required if one sells travel from Ireland (ie flights or ferries). So this has no reflection whatever on the
    charity.

    You also suggest the Charity is portraying itself as a Travel Agent or Tour operator, this is not at all true how could it as it has no licence to do so, and would have to establish it self as such in order to even apply for such a lincence and would immediately lose it’s status as a charity.

    Why anyone would wish to destroy the reputation of such a worthy cause is beyond me, and to spoil the expectations of so many children!

    I would ask that the promotor of this site now check the facts fully, anc correct same, in fairness, and to repair the damage that has been caused by all the inaccurances and suggestions being made, perhaps they would also like to make themselves known instead of hiding behind a sudeo name.

    Gabrielle
    18th september 2009

31. Kae September 18th, 2009 12:13 pm

    Why should the author reveal himself? So you can send “the boys” around? Exactly what purpose is there to the author identifying himself? I’m tempted to stand up and yell “I’m Spartacus!”

    On the fact-finding – the article is not attacking the people on the street. It offers evidence that the charity is being run by some people who have demonstrated in other areas that they may be simply not fit to run it.

32. liz September 18th, 2009 2:23 pm

    @kae yes I know for a fact that last year alone – the kids travelled to lapland and had a great time and that is the main thing isnt it? Enable Ireland sent 10 kids from their side, St Michaels House has sent 24, portiuncula has sent 19 if not 20, the same with Tallaght hospital and Limerick hospital and our lady of lourdes in Drogheda around 25 – this is a fact as I was at the aiport last year to see them of. You should see their faces so looking forward to the trip. Kids with ordinary back up – you might be thinking that they have crisps on the bag, toys etc…. but instead these kids have small oxygen tanks and tube connected to their noses but….the smile when you see them is priceless……

33. gabrielle September 18th, 2009 3:15 pm

    Kae

    As the charity has been run more than successfully for the last 19 years, by the same people, how can
    you conclude that the people involved are not fit to run it now ????

    Running a business, particularly a travel business in the present climate is not easy, and you may or not be aware that many, 2 in the last week alone, have ceased to trade – but United has not, so the proof as they
    say is the proof in the pudding is in the eating!!

    Gabrielle
    18th September 2009

34. gabrielle September 18th, 2009 3:18 pm

    REf the author revealing himself, I ask this as I believe anyone who hides behind a suedo name
    is basically cowardly and has not the courage of his convictions.

    You are veing over dramatic would I waste my time.

    Gabrielle
    18th September 2009

35. Bock September 19th, 2009 1:08 am

    To Liz, Gabrielle and Fiona, I have only this to say: how’s it going, Rommel?

    Would you be interested to know that the three ladies all have the same IP address? What a coincidence.

    Isn’t it great to be spammed by the Children to Lapland Appeal?

    What a bunch of absolute arseholes.

36. sean Dermot Mc Guckin MPRII. September 19th, 2009 2:07 pm

    Dear Steve Ross,
    I really do no want to waist my Time writing to you but as you have published my
    e-mail address and ip address you have not given me much of a choice.
    you have also sent me a number of un welcome e-mails.

    I am a private individual and I am not directly involved with the Charity
    I have however supported there work over many years.

    I am amazed that you would think that Liz, Gabrielle and Fiona are the one person and that tells me that you really have not got a clue what you are writing about.

    I am deeply disappointed that you have not done your research into
    “The Children To Lapland Appeal” for there you will find some of the most Genuine People
    Ordinary decent people doing extraordinary work for the Children
    Con and Rommel should be credited for doing a great job oven many difficult years.

    Its the many many Children you need to ask about there experiences with
    “The Children To Lapland Appeal”

    as for the travel trade. Like all Business Today – what can you say!

37. TIPPERARY September 19th, 2009 2:44 pm

    THIS IS A GREAT CHARITY AND THE SICK CHILDREN REALLY ENJOY THE TRIPS ALSO THEIR FAMILIES,ITS SUCH A FUN LOVING TIME TO SEE THE SMILES ON THE CHILDRENS FACES.HOW MANY OTHER CHARITYS DO THIS,I JUST THINK FROM THE COMMENTS HAVE BEEN LEFT THESE PEOPLE SHOULD GET A LIFE,OR JUST GO AND VISIT ANY OF THESE HOSPITALS AND SEE FOR YOURSELF HOW MUCH SICK CHIDREN THERE IS, THAN COMMENT.CON MURPHY IS A GREAT PERSON FOR HIS ROLE IN HIS JOB AND ALSO ROMMEL AND THE REST INVOLVED.ITS VERY EASY TO BE NEGATIVE BUT JUST THINK YOU COULD HAVE A CHID IN THIS SITUATION,THESE PEOPLE ARE HERE TO HELP.I GIVE THEM 100% FOR THEIR GREAT WORK.

38. Rommel September 19th, 2009 9:22 pm

    Dear Steve,
    What can I say, when it comes to reaching conclusion you raise the roof!!! I did not really want to comment in any of the write ups that you have published but then this just proves that you can really condemn someone or accuse someone without even investigating…..
    Liz was the one that has told me about the site and she was so annoyed by the whole thing she even drove to our office to show us, used one of our PC to submit her comments.
    Gabrielle works with United Travel and would know the ins and outs of the Company and can therefore reply to subject pertaining to the Company. Fiona works with United Travel as well for Operations and helps out as well with the Charity day in day out from 3pm to 6pm or even late night if need be – when Liz has told them as well about the site they went to see it themselves and posted their own comments…
    SO YES THEY WILL ALL HAVE THE SAME IP ADDRESS
    SO YES AS WELL STEVE…… ALL THESE PEOPLE OR ALL OF US I SHOULD SAY…. ARE A BUNCH OF
    ABSOLUTE ARSEHOLES!!!

39. Gary Ireland September 20th, 2009 8:19 am

    I do not care one way or the other. However Rommel , methinks thou dost protest too much.

40. Bock September 20th, 2009 12:36 pm

    Dermot — Don’t be such an idiot. You spammed this site and you can expect to see details of the spam published. That’s how spammers are treated. And if you supply an email address with your spam, you can expect somebody to write to you asking you to explain yourself.

    Rommel — It’s very hard to take you seriously. As Gary says, you protest too much.

    However, since you’re there, maybe you could point out which of the statements in this post are factually incorrect.

41. Mike September 21st, 2009 9:22 am

    Nice one Bock,

    Great job on kicking the hutch! Look whats crawled out.

    Anyone who doubts that the Children to lapland appeal should just log onto the CRO.ie website and research the “charity”, you’ll soon discover how much has been put through the books in the name of sick children and where it went.

    Go one further and research “Manorcastle ltd” and you’ll discover a whole lot more, not to mention if you do a search and see just what other companies Mr John Con Murphy dabbles in.

    The only sad bit is the number of hard working volunteers who give their time and effort to what they believe to be a genuine charity.

    Well done Bock,

    Keep up the good work,

    Mike

42. Geoffrey September 24th, 2009 1:07 am

    I recently sponsered a large sum of money to atlantic Media! Cud u please many be call me on 07518437453

43. John Walsh September 24th, 2009 1:35 pm

    Quite an interesting post … I totally agree with Norma and personally feel the genuine charities, donators and volunteers should be cleared off all the suspicions surrounding the charity appeal. The well known charities are not shrouded in mystery and are very transparent in fact and figures. May I suggest Con, Gabrielle, Fiona , Rommel, Liz to come forward with facts and figures and show the courage to publish the financial reports of Children to Lapland Appeal and shut the mouth of accusers.

    John

44. David September 25th, 2009 6:12 am

    Reading this thread with interest, the company I work for have been contacted by an employee regarding a fundraising event for the lapland charity and we were considering participating on the basis that the money raised was directed towards a good and worthy cause.

    Can anyone tell me how many children were actually brought to lapland in each of 2008, 2007 and 2006, before we make a financial commitment and public endorsement of same.

    David.

45. Bock September 25th, 2009 11:12 am

    You would need to ask them how many children were brought free of charge and how many paid.

46. liz September 29th, 2009 10:26 pm

    Dear david
    liz ere
    I’m a free vol fund raiser and i dont work or get paid off any charity. This is not the only charity i help. Last year in 2008 200 kids went from different hospitals around the country. I my family and i helped raised a good bit of money ere in our local town and we had the papers down to confirm this. I know children personally that went on this trip, some are still alive and some are not. I just hope that the Parents of the children that are passed on are not looking at this as its hard enough for any parent to live out their child. Please help this charity you can check out the hospitals as well. Thanks david. Liz

47. Bock September 29th, 2009 11:05 pm

    Liz — Did the flight with the 200 sick kids go to Lapland before or after the United Travel flights that failed to take off? Also, can you confirm what tour operator organised the flight with the sick children?

48. liz September 30th, 2009 12:10 am

    The flight went out on the 17th of Dec 2008. This was after as i know con murphy paid money from his own pocket for some of the kids to go. He wouldn’t let any child down. I’m not sure what tour operator took the kids on the trip but if you want me to find out for you i can, no problem. look up the children to lapland appeal website and you will see the kids for yourself. The way people are talking ere ud think con murphy was a monster when he is a gentle giant. As i said i dont work for him and if he was bad i wouldn’t be helping out the charity. why dont you go on one of the walks and see what these lovely people are like? ? I’m not being smart i’m a very genuine person and my family and i have raised a lot of money and if i thought it wasn’t going to the charity do you honestly think i’d be risking my family and my good name . We are very well known and for personal reasons we help this charity. If i was talking to your face i could tell you, but i’m not going to broadcast it on the net. Thanks again. Join the rest of the voluntary workers around the country and see how good you feel after it. By the way i live the other end of the country

49. Ona Island September 30th, 2009 12:14 am

    Any charity that raises money in this way is open to question. If you ask people to raise several thousand euro, and then give them a combination of difficult task (walking, trekking, building) and holiday in some faraway place, then youo have to ask how much of the money raised goes to cover their holiday.

    I prefer fundraising methods which are lean on overhead, where as much as possible of the money donated goes to work.

50. Bock September 30th, 2009 12:17 am

    Did any of the money to fund this flight come from the people who were subsequently stranded?

    As you might be aware, United Travel did not refund these people. The aviation regulator had to draw down United Travel’s bond to pay them their money back.

    This is what the aviation regulator said on the 31st March 2009, three months after the sick children were sent to Lapland:

    The Commission has drawn down the Tour Operator Bond held in respect of Manorcastle Travel Ltd. This bond will now be used to refund customers who had booked travel with Manorcastle Ltd prior to its failed attempts to renew its Tour Operator License up to the end of November 2008, and who have yet to receive a refund from the company.

    I wonder exactly whose pocket paid for the children’s flight?

51. liz September 30th, 2009 12:49 am

    I’m not going to even bother any more cause ye need the trip badly yer selves cause ur sick in the head. Their is no winning with you and you seem to be taking this charity to your heart. Why dont you go and do a bit of work or are you living off others. Ur def not doing a honest days work? cause u seem to live on the computer. Get a life for urself or may be a woman. U def have it in for this charity or a person on this charity. So good luck

52. Bock September 30th, 2009 12:50 am

    Liz — Is your mask slipping?

    I asked you a fair question and you had no answer except personal abuse. That doesn’t reflect very well on you, does it?

53. liz September 30th, 2009 1:00 am

    if i had a face on me like urs i’d definitley wear a mask. Ur the one giving abuse just look at your records ere. Ud put anyone on prozac ur such a sad person and a downer. God help anyone around you. I have lovely skin and dont need a mask. so go bock urself

54. Bock September 30th, 2009 1:18 am

    Now. Let’s just review the facts.

    According to the Aviation Regulator, Manorcastle/United Travel failed in the High Court to renew its tour operator licence on the 28th November 2008.

    And yet, you say that the flight went out on the 17th December 2008? But in December, United Travel had no licence, so they couldn’t have been the tour operators, could they? That would have been illegal.

    So what tour operator sent the sick children to Lapland on the 17th December? Was it Twohig Travel as mentioned by Gabrielle in a previous comment?

    It looks like we’ll have to search through the departure records from Dublin Airport to find out. It is Dublin, isn’t it?

55. gabrielle September 30th, 2009 10:23 am

    You may call Twohig Travel if you wish, or the commission who will confirm all. Including the fact that
    no one was stranded and all passengers have been refunded all but 4 by the company itself.

    The company is currently in dispute with the Commission regarding the comments on their site and the
    fact that they will not give the current situation on their site.

    You can call, their legal people if you wish Fry and Company if the commission will not comment, as they
    tend not to once their legal people are involved.

    Now I hope you will decide to leave a very genuine charitable organision alone, and maybe get on to
    some more important issue like the Banks etc. and see can you raise public opinion in that area.

    Or perhaps you only look to put people down who are trying to make the world a happier place for
    some children who have very short lives!!!

    I feel at this point you must have nothing else in your life!!!

    Gabrielle
    30th September 2009

56. norma September 30th, 2009 10:36 am

    It’s really all about keeping it simple and straight forward, Charities, most especially those aimed at benefitting children are under a lot of pressure in present climate, The basics are, the intended goal must be totally transparent and the means of reaching said goal even more so.
    I have been involved in various charities down the years and for many reasons problems arise, one can never forget the ultimate outcome, but sometimes the personalities involved overtake the outcome.
    Liz is entitled to her opinion that the people running the charity she is involved with are whiter than white and angels walking among us, but that is totally irrelevant if the charity is being mismanaged in any way, deliberate or not, Either sufficient funds were raised to complete the objective or they were’nt, Either the money was in place to complete the trip or it was’nt, Whether or not it was a con is a different question, whether it was mismanaged or not should be the first and most important question.
    Maybe their overheads were too high, maybe some of the funds raised were spent in unproductive ways, that should all have been assessed by the specific commitee dealing with the charity.
    I will go back to my original point of advertising, people on the street, brochures etc, they just eat the budget so they have to be thought out very carefully.
    It’s very easy to get media coverage, but its dogged hard work and circumventing this by blowing the budget is a poor choice.
    The individuals running a charity are not important, neither their personalities or whether they are “gentle giants ” or not, it’s all about the end game and whether or not they achieved the objective in the manner the people benefitting from the charity deserve.
    When situations arise that the management of said charity comes into question, the reverberations on everyone, including the reciepients, hospitals, benefactors etc is very negative, there should be no hidden corners in a charity, because it’s all very simple and every cent can be accounted for and when it isn’t big questions have to be asked and those people managing the funds simply have to stand up and be counted, whether they are wonderful people to walk with or work with has no relevance here, it’s all about the accounts.

57. Bock September 30th, 2009 12:37 pm

    Gabrielle — You seem to be speaking on behalf of United Travel as well as the Children to Lapland Appeal.

    Why is that?

58. John Walsh October 1st, 2009 12:26 pm

    The post by David on 25th Sept, who seems to be a genuine contributor raised a very simple and straight forward question .To my surprise no one has bothered to respond to his post , but the charity appeal people was quite enthusiastic not to miss a chance of slagging each other. Don’t you need money???

    Am I right in saying, for the past 19 years, Noble Tours/ United Travel organised the travel arrangements and chartered flights for the Lapland charity programme and various charity walks?

    Gabrielle – Why not answer Bock’s query whose pocket paid for the children’s flight? Narrowing it down, it’s all about public money on behalf of charity. WHAT A SHAME !!!!!!!

59. norma October 1st, 2009 2:09 pm

    David’s question 45, is most straightforward and relevant, The fact that it has gone unanswered raises even more questions.
    Charity, its definition is ” The practice of benevolent giving ” Now some might argue that this isn’t the forum on which to answer questions, well why not ?
    Any member of the public is entitled to information regarding any Charity, as it the public upon who the said Charity is dependent on to achieve it’s intended goal.
    I cannot begin to explain how much it pisses me off when people defending the actions of others do so by ignoring the facts, ignoring the questions put to them and constantly trot out the defensive attitudes that contain zero factual or evidentiary reality.
    This impacts on all charities, people get suspicious and skeptical and for all those people who tirelessly give of their time, energy and hard earned cash this becomes a gross misguidance.
    A charity has to be conducted with the highest standards of integrity, there are no grey areas, it’s completly blk/white, .
    Gabrielle 56, Why do you think that the subject of ” Banks ” is more important or more relevant ?
    because according to your professed philosophy interpreted through these posts, the happiness and welfare of these children is of much higher priority, as of course it is.
    Why post contact details of people such as Fry and Co when you absolutly know that nobody from there or the commision can legally make a comment, I can only interpret that as defending the indefensible and i was originally very open until further facts were produced.
    As a fundraiser, I see this as a very relevant place to raise the questions which have been raised, to answer them does not compromise anyone, It would only benefit the children who are the beneficiaries of this Charity.

60. gabrielle October 1st, 2009 4:03 pm

    The reason I am setting out the position of United Travel is that I am involved there, as I am also
    involved with the Charity.

    The problems relating to United Travel have no bearing on the charity as it is a completely seperate
    entity, and whether or not United Travel is trading or not, or is mismanaged or not has nothing
    what so ever to do with the charity, it is the author of this site that tied them together no me.

    The Charity is certainly not mismanaged and each year achieves its numbers, and manages to raise
    funds, as last year was a difficult year in which to raise funds, much of the donation was paid by
    Mr. Con Murphy himself in order for the flight to run.

    The charity purchased its flight and ground arrangements from United Travel, as it is an expert and
    a leader in this field, and had the staff and expertise to organise the trip. The company also offered
    the programme to the Charity at a net cost. The Charity keeps fully audited accounts, which in the
    normal way are subject to the scrutiny of the Department concerned as is the case with any company
    or charity, and are available in the normal way to the general public. Last year 2008 due to issues
    with United Travel’s licence, another company stepped in to cover the flights with their licence which
    is quite in order and is approved by the CAR.

    All monies raised in the name of the Charity are used for the purpose intended taking sick and
    terminally ill children to Lapland to see the Real Father Christmas, and it is the charity’s intention
    to do the same, this year. In previous years much of the money was raised through the generosity
    of many individuals and through various hand picked companies, however, with the present economic climate the charity has had to review its fund raising programme, and open this up to the wider public, ie.
    by arranging gigs, concerts, bucket collections, etc. as well as mail shots, e mails and faxes, as well as
    its annual walks, to raise this years funds. Our final main fund raiser is a Christmas Dinner on 20th November in the Red Cow at the cost of €65 per person (tables of 10), and anyone who wants information
    on this or any of our functions – 8th October Red Cow Tribute Bands (5) 15th October Joe Dolan tribute
    and Abaesque. enquires 01 2832555 tickets at door or from ticketmaster – so maybe you can help!

    This year we have had to spend a little more on publicity, flyers etc. but we have to compete with some
    biger and equally deserving causes, who have a lot more money to spend than we do.

    But rest assured those who matter – the little ones – will get to Lapland in time to see Santa.

    Gabrielle
    1st october 2009

61. norma October 1st, 2009 10:35 pm

    Thank you Gabrielle for your response, However it does not contain an answer to David’s question, As he is considering donating to your charity, Do you not feel he is entitled to answers ?
    Yes, fundraising is difficult at this time, but to be honest, it’s always difficult and targets have to change to deal with present difficulties.
    Did you ever think that the fact that you were involved with the Charity and the company arranging transport, that a ” conflict of interest ” might arise at some time ?
    I apprecate that being involved with United Travel may have granted you some leeway with keeping costs down but ultimatly could impact on the Charity, which is a total seperate entity. Surely your knowledge of the travel industry as an individual would have been of great benefit to negotiating low cost arrangements separately from United.
    As the fundraising ie ” walks ” in mostly long haul places appears to be a big part of attaining the goal of taking sick and/or disabled children to Lapland, both the means and the end all inextricably attatched to a Travel company, did you never think how this might appear to your donaters ?

62. Bock October 1st, 2009 10:39 pm

    What ties United Travel and the charity together is the fact that they have the same directors, and the fact that United Travel have failed to secure a tour operator’s licence.

    They also appear to have the same spokespeople which is worrying.

    For the record, this is what David asked:

    Can anyone tell me how many children were actually brought to lapland in each of 2008, 2007 and 2006, before we make a financial commitment and public endorsement of same.

63. gabrielle October 2nd, 2009 12:10 pm

    Sorry, I was so annoyed about someone trying for whatever to damage the charity and
    its reputation, I did not take heed of the inherent question and the following is the
    answer to this question. The figures include the nurses and doctors, minders who
    accompany the children by necessity, remember many of the children need constant care
    oxygen, etc. etc.

    2006 187

    2007 361

    2008 120

    Regarding links between United Travel and the Charity works to the advantage of the Charity, rather
    than against, and the programme offered by United Travel is far superior to that offered by anyone
    else, and their expertise is invaluable.

    Gabrielle
    2nd October 2009

64. John Walsh October 2nd, 2009 4:05 pm

    Gabrielle,your statement glorify Con Murphy rescuing the charity by donating from his own pocket to operate the charity flights to Lapland ,on the other hand ,aviation authorities demanding to raise a substantial amount of money for the renewal of tour operators licence.

    Ref: RTE Liveline- Joe Duffy / It was refused a tour operator’s licence last year due to what the regulator called an inadequate financial situation, and disappointed 1,100 customers who had booked a trip to Lapland for Christmas. Eventually, in March of this year, the regulator drew down the company’s bond, and refunded customers who had been unable to get their money back.

    In such circumstance, how come he contribute towards the charity and failing to refund the hard earned money of the clients on right time, if he was so generous and genuine.

    Again Gabrielle – 61 stating the charity purchased its flight and ground arrangements from United Travel, as it is an expert and a leader in this field, and had the staff and expertise to organise the trip. The company also offered the programme to the charity at a net cost. ( same directors decides the so called ‘net cost’)

    The charity using the staff expertise are not ‘volunteers’ as you claim. The charity walks organised to long haul destinations, are they being provided at net cost? (wondering who organise them at net cost as you have no licence to operate).

    Charity and Travel business under one roof , same products ,one using others expertise and claims to be volunteers ……What a coincidence !!!!

    John

65. gabrielle October 2nd, 2009 4:34 pm

    You obviously have not read the rest of the correspondence, here, all refunds have been
    actioned by the company, as previously stated as well as the fact that 99% of the guests did
    in fact travel, those who did not have been fully refunded since early this year.

    This fact can be confirmed by the commission if you care to call them!!!

    Your other comments are just inflamatory – who better to do this type of thing than the experts in the
    field!!!!!!

    The children deserve the best, and that is what they get !!!! as did all the guests of the company,
    if you care to call to the office, we can show you comment sheets from guests etc. !!! proof of all
    refunds etc. !!!! just call me at 01 2190600 and I will glady arrange this for you!!!

    If a charity can have office space etc. free why should they not use it !!!!

    Gabrielle 2nd October 2009

66. tipperary October 2nd, 2009 10:23 pm

    Just looking at all the comments left by bock,why does anyone even bother reply to this asshole,he has been spaming lots of sites,he is really getting a great kick out of this.what i say to all ye good people is not to reply to him,he has also spamed harvey normans check it out (harvey normans insults irelands famine victims by bockThe person is very close to been caught,SO WHAT I SAY IS NOT TO REPLY..HE IS A VERY SAD PERSON.THIS WILL END SOON.BEST OF LUCK TO CHILDREN TO LAPLAND STAFF AND FUNDRAISERS,ALSO PARENTS.

67. liz October 2nd, 2009 10:55 pm

    Thank you to the Tipperary person. U know what your so right. fair duce to you for speaking up about this ass hole BOCK. The Kids are the most important thing here and what would he know? Thank you everyone who has helped THE CHILDREN TO LAPLAND APPEAL. Hope Bock never seeks our help, i would help your child but i couldn’t support anything you do Bock.

68. John Walsh October 5th, 2009 12:10 pm

    Gabrielle – Brushing aside the issues by saying ‘inflammatory comments’ is not an answer.

    Charity is motivated by altruism, knowledge, and perspective, not a knee-jerk reaction to a television commercial or glossy brochure or sentimental stories. When someone donates to support the mission of an organization, the charity programme must make sense, transparent and organisation must be willing for public audit. When someone wants to support the outcome of the charity aims to deliver, the organisations method of arriving at that outcome must also make sense for the donators. Basically, the donors have the right to know how the money is being spend, annual budget, general administration cost , fundraising expenses & overhead costs and to whom the money is going to fulfil its objectives.

    Charities have an obligation to provide detailed information to the public. (Refer to all the well known charity websites; they have the annual reports published) The vital information such as charities mission statement, short and long term objectives, audited financial statements with accompanying notes are the fundamental missing elements in this case.

    Sick children deserves the best- NO DOUBT – If these crowds are not providing the accurate information, then it’s all about the credibility of the above said.

69. Richard October 6th, 2009 1:02 pm

    There is an obvious conflict of interest. Yes the kids are important, yes it’s great that they get a chance to go to Lapland but as a member of the general public and making a donation I have the right to know how that money is spent & Bock raises some extremely valid concerns that have not been fully addressed. If I give €100 to the appeal, or buy advertising from hard sell companies like Atlantic Media, or attend the gig tonight at the Red Cow where 5 bands are probably giving their time for free in order to attract tickets sales..I have a legitimate right to ask…

    –what % of that money rasied is spent on Charitable administration costs and are these costs in any way part of United Travel’s fixed overhead
    –what % are expenses by Charity volunteers/Employees or directors of United Travel
    –what % is for flights/accomodation and expenses of the chilren themselves

    Are United Travel really the experts in the field and the obvious travel operator choice for the Charity that shares office space with them? Both Sunway and Falcon seem to do trips to Lapland? Was sponsorship of the travel costs sought from either of these operators rather than actually use donations to fund the travel, even if it is at cost?

    All companies have fixed overhead expenses and maintainence costs. Do any of the charitible donations help to fund some of these fixed costs and if ANY of this money is used for United Travel or it’s employees or directors, then it is a bona fide conflict of interest and deserving of being raised as a concern.

    In regard to the sponsored walks, well this sounds like a revenue stream for UT if ever I saw one. It’s a win win win situation for everyone except the person sponsoring or donating. If I’m donating €100 to my mate for doing a walk in order to help children, my mate gets an exotic holday, UT get a customer and the kids get a donation?…great stuff…except…if I really wanted to help the kids, I’d be far better going directly to National Children’s Hospital and handing them €100 rather than the €20 odd they’d end up getting from the sponsorship malarkey.

70. John Walsh October 9th, 2009 11:19 am

    Post 69 & 70 are legitimate queries looking for facts and figures. Ignoring or intentional silence … is that the new strategy?

71. gabrielle October 12th, 2009 2:59 pm

    As previously explained all details are there for public knowledge, as we have do all our returns
    like any other charity/company, audits etc. all lodged. So information is in public domain.

    This charity is not included in United Travels overheads. The office space is offered free, as are
    all the necessary services, telephone, etc. and this year staff have been lent to the charity by
    United Travel (without charge) again this will show in the annual returns of the Charity.

    No expenses are charged to the charity by collectors or the directors of United Travel.

    As previously explained all flights and ground arrangements (no accommodaton necessary as this
    is a day trip) are charged at net to the Charity, by the suppliers, in general the ratio is 100% of
    collection to pay for Children, less any printing expenses for leaflets etc. Up to this year, funds
    were raised by walkers and companies, but due to the economic climate at present we have had
    to arrange functions etc. to raise funds, so these by necessity to incurr some costs for printing etc.
    which must be of a standard to compete with the other many charities out there, so as this is only
    presently happening and no audit will be done until end of year, I cannot give accurate figures on this,
    but again once accounts are lodged this can be seen.

    It is entirely up to an individual donor to decide how they wish to donate, but walkers tend to
    generate enough funds to send one if not two children, dependant on the particular trip. This
    form of fund raising has been proven to be productive over the years. It seems to appeal to people
    and the fund raisers work very hard to raise sponsorship. The fund raisers, do bag packs, pub
    quizes, etc. etc. and it is a good incentive for many people.

    Incidently you mention Atlantic Media, if you care to look at our website you will see that we infact
    disassociated ourselves from this organisation last April, when we were not happy with how this
    was being handled.

    REF other operators offering Lapland, yes indeed one of those mentioned was approached last
    year, when United experienced its difficulties, and they offered seats at the full fare with no discount
    and they do not have the experience nor the staff to manage trips such as those which United Travel
    offered, as they have had 19 years experience of working with the Chairty, and the charity have
    had no complaints, only compliments. Monies raised are specificially for sick children and the
    hospitals do not receive the funds, each hospital is offered a number of places to fill, and they
    choose the children and helpers etc.

    The questions were not being ignored, but this site is not monitored on a day by day or hour by
    hour basis, as we have much more important things to keep us occupied.

    Gabrielle
    12th october 2009

72. John Walsh October 21st, 2009 5:47 pm

    The two statements from the post 72 itself is contradictory

    1.charity is not included in United Travels overheads. The office space is offered free, as are all the necessary services, telephone, etc. and this year staff have been lent to the charity by United Travel (without charge) again this will show in the annual returns of the Charity

    2. ….. they do not have the experience nor the staff to manage trips such as those which United Travel offered, as they have had 19 years experience of working with the charity, and the charity have had no complaints, only compliments.

    The staffs are not being ‘lent’ for charity as you claim. Bearing in mind UT having no licence, charity is paying UT on net or whatever and UT is paying the staff, your statement doesn’t correlate each other.

    As per the second statement, expertise of Noble tours and later on UT has been utilised since the charity commenced and this is not the first year UT is lending its staff for charity. Is it mandatory that UT staff has to work for charity?

    I have learnt that employees were laid off and new staff were taken on board by UT/ charity. Isn’t that clearly breach of law? To which category do the new people belong to? – Staff or volunteers

73. gabrielle November 4th, 2009 5:24 pm

    Dear John Walsh,

    This is our final statement or reply in this matter,

    Both the Charity and United Trave; are both above board and legitimate, and act entirely with
    all guidelines and laws.

    If you wish to discuss this further you can call to our office in person and we can show you or
    explain anything else you wish to know, but we do not intend to continue with this correspondence
    which is largely inaccurate from your side.

    As stated before we have much more important matters to attend to, to ensure that these
    deserving children get their trip of a lifetime.

    Regards
    Gabrielle
    3rd November 2009

74. Bock November 4th, 2009 5:29 pm

    Everything written in this post is factual and verifiable, based on material drawn from the Companies Registration Office, the Aviation regulator and promotional literature produced by the Children to Lapland Appeal. The CRO and the aviation regulator are quoted verbatim within the post without alteration or addition.

75. gabrielle November 9th, 2009 2:20 pm

    One final point although all the initial facts may be accurate from your point of view, they are
    now in fact out of date, particularly the Aviation Regulators sight, ref. United, who currently
    have a court case in the making against the commission, and as all of the facts given by
    you relate to sometime that happened a full year ago, and the follow on to this, perhaps you
    should consider updating the issues as already suggested.

    For accurate information, as mentioned in my comment on 4th November, anyone who wishes
    to call us or in fact call to our offices is more than welcome to, both for United and the Children
    to Lapland, and see for themselves the current situation, we would be more than delighted to
    welcome them.

    Regards
    Gabrielle
    7th November 2009

76. C'est La Craic November 9th, 2009 2:24 pm

    Just remember to count your fingers after shaking hands.

77. Bock November 9th, 2009 2:31 pm

    All information reproduced here is currently on the aviation regulator’s website.

    Commission for Aviation Regulation

78. LOUTH GUY November 16th, 2009 1:34 pm

    Bock.. Ur 1 sick man.. Do u realise wat ur doing here.. U are putting doubt in the mind of ppl who have supported this charity for many many yrs…. And the only people that are suffering is the children… Yes iv been indirecly involved with this charity for last number of years.. I also travelled on the flght in 2006 with the terminally ill children.. To c wat it was all about.. If u saw how happy this trip makes these kids and the effort that con and rommell and a few of the other ut staff put in u wud not b writing this.. Iv actually photos on a disk of these kids on the trip… If u would like a copy of the disk ill gladly forward it to u. U obviously hav no children and if u do ever hav i hope none of them are terminally ill.

79. Bock November 16th, 2009 1:59 pm

    Comments in English only please.

80. The Great Zucchini November 16th, 2009 2:03 pm

    It gets even more interesting this as it goes on, Anyone know the background for this story?

    http://www.live95fm.ie/news/news-item.aspx?arti_guid=69b60cf3-df16-47a0-a806-9c9b8c014771

81. The Great Zucchini November 16th, 2009 2:14 pm

    PS Listen to the audio

82. GABRIELLE November 17th, 2009 2:57 pm

    Yes please listen to the Audio, and you will see what the Charity has been up against this year.
    We were targeted by a number of groups who gave us IDs address telephone numbers etc.(all legitimate and check) offering to assist the charity, they were to get please authrisations etc. in the area in which they
    intended to collect, we subsequently discovered that they had not obtained these licences, and immediately withdrew our authoristations, and asked all to concern to return the the buckets, t shirts
    etc. issued, some were return, some money was lodged to the charity (very small) supposedly from
    the collections. As the buckets were not been returned, with the cooperation of the Gadai, we arranged
    for buckets to be returned to garda stations for convenience, as this did not happen in any great way,
    we then involved the Gardai in this, and they have now taken over, and are arresting and charging the
    people concerned, this is why they want to be kept informed of any such collectors, so one should not
    now donate to any person collecting on the street, bag packs, race nights etc. are still in order and
    we would urge people to support these. In fact in the case of two of the those arrrested (in Portlaoise) they have been found guilty and fine €1,000.00 each which is to be donated to the charity, as instructed by
    the judge. There are a number more awaiting trail, and we hope that any future judge will be of the
    same mind, and this might help to make up for the loss.

    The Gardai have informed us that this is a common practice, so if you are suspicious of any one
    collected for ANY CHARITY on the street you shold check with the local gardai to ensure that they
    are legite.

    thanking you for your attention

    Gabrielle
    18th November 2009

83. Tracy Carraher December 15th, 2009 4:11 pm

    As much as I would like to believe that all Charities are legitimate, I am very aware of Scam Charities operating throughout the UK and Ireland on funds raised by genuinely caring staff and members of public. These Scam Charities however, have usually not been operating for 19 years!

    Has anyone on here physically seen the accounts which the Charity must submit each year in order to stay within the law? I feel unless you have a copy of these in your hand, with hard factual evidence about the Childern to Lapland Appeal being dishonest, then the comments posted on here are simply gossip mongering without a scrap of evidence. Not only is this wrong on all levels, but it is significantly reducing the chances for the Appeal to raise funds to take other children to Lapland in the future. It’s not the volunteers or charity you’re affecting, its the children who have enough heartbreak in their lives as it is!

    All things considered, the Children to Lapland Appeal did have a lot of bad press when United Travel went into bankruptcy, so surely, bearing this in mind, the neccessary institutions or commissioners that regulate Irish Charities would have been made aware of these ‘rumours’ and checked into the Appeal a little more thoroughly? Would that be a fair assumption to make considering that if they didn’t then a ‘State Body’ would be seen as not having done their job correctly?

    If the Children to Lapland Appeal were a scam then the actual governing bodies would have known this by now from the 19 years of accounts which have been submited. The governing bodies would then have closed down the Charity, and all those involved with dodgy dealings would have been dealt with accordingly. As we all know, a year on since United’s closure, and another years set of accounts, Children to Lapland Appeal is still an active Charity and should be treated as such.

    I know we all hate to be asked to donate for this that and the other, when quite frankly, we have our own children to feed, however I find defamation of character – whether it be about anyone or charity – is about as low and pathetic as possible!

    Leave the silly name calling for the schoolyard, should the Charity be found to be guilty in the future then let the neccessary courts deal with them – this webpage is not a session in court – and for all those who decided to personally attack the staff of the Charity then shame on you!

    I know there will be a few disappointed people on here to hear this, but the centre of the world has been discovered – and it’s not you! Now lets all get on with living life through this tough economy, and for God’s sake – grow the hell up! Best of luck to Children to Lapland who I will most certainly be supporting from this year onwards!

84. norma stleger December 16th, 2009 11:47 am

    Well that proves the theory that ” any publicity is good publicity ” Go Tiger !

85. Bock December 16th, 2009 2:55 pm

    Tracy — Everything in this post is factual and verifiable.

86. Tracy Carraher December 16th, 2009 3:43 pm

    Hi Bock, thanks a mil for your reply post.

    I am sure that an intelligent man such as yourself would not include any information which is incorrect or unverifiable, what I was asking is have you physically seen the accounts for the Charity? They can be purchased online for a small fee, what I can’t understand is that as the accounts would technically be the only hard evidence of this Charity acting fraudulently, why would you not purchase them and upload them for your readers?

    That way, all the people commenting on here and agreeing that the Charity is a Scam can have the evidence confirm this to them and then can carry on trying to bring the Charity to it’s knees…is that not the whole idea of this webpage? Prove its a Scam Charity and stop them?

    In my opinion, the reason you haven’t included the accounts is because you are aware that the Charity is operating within all Charity guidelines and infact no ‘dodgy dealings’ are taking place. Were you to include a set of accounts on here, the fact that they are legitimate would prevent the ‘hype’ which you are so desperately trying to create.

    It is a very ‘grey area’ in which a webpage like this is operating. Although it is of course perfectly legal and harmless to voice ones opinion, slandering a character or company in this manner can soon turn into a very expensive affair. I would urge your posters and readers to remember that although you do have alot of facts in this page, the remainder is simply hearsay and should not be taken as gospel.

87. Bock December 16th, 2009 5:13 pm

    Tracy — All comments in support of your position, including the abusive ones, have been reproduced here without alteration.

    If you would like to point out what is inaccurate in anything said here, those corrections will be posted.

    It has not been suggested that there is anything fraudulent with your accounts, and if you would like to provide copies, I will be happy to publish them.

88. Tracy Carraher December 18th, 2009 1:07 pm

    Hi Bock, unfortunately I think you seem to have gotten confused amidst our conversation.

    I have at no stage accused you of entering inaccurate information on this webpage, infact, you can see on my last post how I commended a man of your intelligence on not including anything that cannot be verified, what I am saying to you Bock is that you have no proof at all of any scam having been committed. So without evidence, hearsay is all that this webpage is about. And evidence is the only thing that can hang a criminal!

    There is nothing fraudulent about my accounts as I do not own my own company, I am an associate who happily enough doesn’t have to worry about these things! I think what your post was meant to read was ‘It has not been suggested that there is anything fraudluent with their accounts’ – you may not have directly spoken the words ‘dodgy accounts’ but if you are claiming that the Charity is a Scam (with money raised from the Charity going to another business owned by the said Charity Director etc) then the accounts is where that information can be garnished and in fact should be garnished if you wish to continue with degrading a Charity registered and working in Ireland for the last 19 years.

    For you to request me to send you the Charities accounts I must say comes across as slightly odd, what I had initially asked is ‘Have you seen their accounts as you can get them cheaply enough online?’ – am I to take your request to send them to you as an admission that you actaully haven’t looked through them for any discrepancies? I was merely pointing out Bock that you can prove the Charity to be a Scam immediately by almost auditing them yourself and then making them available online.

    It is not simply enough to give information like you have above without backing it up with hard evidence! Yes, in my opinion the information you have given does make the Charity sound suspect, however on closer inspection, I managed to quickly and easily find proof to back up the opposite, that they are not Scamming people. Personally, I think that rather than digging the dirt on just one side of the arguement, you should put a fair arguement across and actually publicise details pertaining to both sides of it – but alas – this wouldn’t have created the response that you evidently so wished to do!

    Each to their own opinions Bock, do not think that I am being degrading you to and yours, I am simply telling you my opinion from my eyes. However, I do hope that you are never as unfortunate to need the likes of the Children to Lapland Appeal to make the dreams come true for you and any of yours.

89. John Walsh December 18th, 2009 1:14 pm

    Tracy – Charities have an obligation to publish detailed information including annual reports. Refer to all the well known charity websites.

    ( http://www.concern.net/resources/annual-report-2008 ) .

    The Lapland Charity has never published annual report on their website and you asking us to pay online and downloads the accounts ..What a joke !!!

90. GABRIELLE December 18th, 2009 2:55 pm

    Tracey just to correct a serious error you have made, United Travel did not go into bankruptcy, in fact its
    accounts have as required by law been submitted long since to revenue, The company merely lost its
    licence to sell holidays commencing in Ireland, in other words it cannot sell airline or ferry tickets ex
    Ireland, it now operates as a ground handler, ie. you book your own flights and the company will provide
    accommodation, transfers etc. overseas. This a legitimate operation.

    another point John Walsh’s comment.
    Ref. the Charity does not see that it is necessary to post its accounts on a website, they are easily
    accessible to anyone who wants them from revenue. I do not know of any company who publishes
    its accounts on line. At this time there is no obligations to publish such accounts, although some of
    the laws governing charities are planned to be put in law next year 2010, including we understand
    a register of charities. This requires to be passed and signed, as it is a change in the law of the land.

    I am delighted to be able to tell you that over the last 2 weekends ie. 4th and 11th December numerous
    terminally ill, long term ill children have once again met the ‘Real Santa’ – this year we brought him from
    the North Pole to the Top of Europe, high in the Alps of Switzerland, and they had a wonderful time.

    The fund raising was poor this year, not helped by the all the negativity being cause by the site, and also
    by our problem with our bucket collections, which were high jacked by a gang, causing us to have to
    withdraw our legitmate street collections, in order to allow the Gardai have a clear field to track and
    arrest the members of the gang we were target by, thus the charity could no afford to charter an aircraft
    to take the children to Lapland, but merely to take the number of children we had funds for and getting
    great deals, from the airlines directly, and the ground package being found for us by United (at much
    reduced rates) in Switzerland. So despite it all we have achieved our aim.!!!!!

    Again I invite anyone who wishes to come and visit our office, and see what we do!!!!

    Gabrielle
    18th December 2009

91. liz March 6th, 2010 1:55 pm

    Well bock are you happy now. Liz ere and i’m still helping the charity and hope to be able to bring a load of children from Laois this year please god if they are still alive. Any chance you could come and give me a hand and see for yourself how hard it is raise a few euro not just for this charity but others that i’m involved in. We could do with a few volunteer collectors. liz

92. Cap'n P March 6th, 2010 8:31 pm

    Can I use this opportunity to plug my own charity, Pints for Peru? The idea is that, I’d love to go and do some chairty work in Peru but I’m constantly drinking my savings. What’s that got to do with anything, I hear you cry. Well, if I can get everyone else to pay for my pints, I can save enough money to get over to Peru and do some charity work…………. and drink some pints.

93. Scotlyn March 7th, 2010 9:57 pm

    Hi Bock, been working too hard to check in with you lately
    … this piece reminds me – I got “caught” a bit over a year ago (around Nov 2008?) by a plea from Atlantic Media – I was offered an ad on a wall planner to be distributed to 30,000 households “in my area” and which would raise funds for the Children to Lapland appeal. I eventually received a copy of the wall planner, but could never find out if anyone else in my area got one. The salesperson on the phone had successfully seduced me into an initial commitment, and although I quickly developed second thoughts, I felt it would be dishonourable to back out. Nevertheless when I checked out, as you did, the connections between the appeal and all the related cross-directorships involved, I smelled a rat, and refused to renew my “ad” the following year. Wish I’d had hard info, not just an inkling, when I first got sweet-talked on the phone, though. This kind of research is excellent, and is why I’ve put your site on my top five list for whenever I’ve got some spare minutes. Keep up the good work.

94. liz March 11th, 2010 1:13 am

    Dear scotlyn i persume you did’nt notice the children to lapland appeal have nothing to do with atlantic media anymore. did you not see the programe on tv with con murphy on it? And bock if i go on a walk i pay for it out of my own money. my family have raised a good bit of money for the charity and have received receipts in full for the same. As for scot i dont think he was the only one caught out, a few people were. Like 2 people caught collecting money in portlaoise from galway ill-legally and were fined a thousand euro each by the judge. Their is a certain group going around doing this with all charities around the country. With the new charity act coming in will stop an awful lot of fraud with registered charities. good luck liz

95. Bock March 11th, 2010 9:27 am

    Instead of walking in the Philippines or Thailand, people could stay at home and use the three grand they save to send children to Lapland.

96. John March 14th, 2010 12:31 am

    Bock , if that happens, It will affect United travel as they offers ” great deals” for charity including flights, ground handling , accommodation etc .

    All legitimate charities raised money to help the Haiti victims… Liz ,why cant to raise few penny’s to help those victims – why dreaming only about flights to Lapland and expensive charity walks ….

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