b'The Ireland Funds have made caring for theForgottenIrishakeyfocusarea.Severalchapterswithinthenetworknowsponsor programs that are committed to supportingelderly Irish men and women. These programsprovide access to a wide range of servicesand educational opportunities that tackle lone-liness and isolation and improve quality of life.It was The Ireland Fund of Great Britain thatfirst actively identified the Forgotten Irish as acommunityofpeopleinneed.Mostofthe Forgotten Irish, now elderly men and womenoriginally from Ireland, came to Britain in thesecond half of the twentieth century, duringone of the darkest and most impoverished pe-riods of Irelands history. The majority came tofind work and sent billions of pounds home totheir families. Thousands of others came to escape the hardship, marginalisation, or, all toooften, the abuse of institutional life.As the campaign approaches its five yearanniversary,BasilGeoghegan, Co-Chairof The Ireland Fund of Great Britains Board of Directors, offers this reflection on the impact ofthe campaign and the people it has touched.The Ireland Fund of Great Britainis looking forward to its 25th anniversary in 2013 and inthat time has lived through many different chapterstheTroubles,theLondonbombingcampaign,theGood FridayAgreementandthepeacethatfollowed,the CelticTigerandIrishprosperitypeakingwithmany trophy London properties being Irish owned up to thecurrent fallout from the financial crisis.As an organisation, the biggest challenge for us is tobe relevant to Irish living in Britain, regardless of whetherthose are donors or beneficiaries, and whether the objectof the philanthropy is in Great Britain or Ireland. Likemany charities in Great Britain, our donors come frommany sections of society with individual interests and whogive to us in many different ways. Some may just throwcoins in a bucket collection at tube stations on St Patricksconnect2012 | 43'