Colin Bell and his wife Eithne from Newry city founded the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust in 2011 after their son Kevin died in New York in 2013.

The trust has assisted in repatriating almost 2500 people who died abroad for families across the island of Ireland. Colin Bell stated the charity expects to reach 2500 repatriations by the end of May. Demand now exceeds 30 cases per month from locations worldwide.

The couple hired a director of operations and an operations officer to manage daily repatriation work. Colin Bell said he and his wife plan to step back from 24-hour voluntary roles but remain trustees and involved. He added he will continue visiting the office daily.

Their adult children serve as trustees. Colin Bell noted the changes secure the trust's future beyond their lifetimes. Neither British nor Irish governments fund repatriation costs for citizens who die abroad.

Laura McDermott said the trust covered all costs to bring her brother Joseph home from Australia after his 2015 death in a Perth building site accident. Her family raised about 100000 pounds for the charity through annual fundraisers.