Appeal raises €195,000 to help Co Cork family after loss of home and father

Almost €195,000 has been raised in less than a day to support a family who lost their father a week after their home was destroyed in a fire.

The blaze broke out in a garage adjoining the home of Brendan and Olivia Walsh and their five children in Killeagh, Co Cork on April 22nd.

It spread quickly to the house itself, which was empty at the time, and it was too late to save the property when the alarm was raised.

Killeagh GAA club has set up a fundraiser to help the Walsh family, which states that losing their home and belongings was only the start of a very difficult period.

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“The realisation quickly dawned that there was no house insurance as the policy had lapsed due to the family hitting hard times financially. The family was now homeless,” states the appeal, which is seeking to raise €350,000.

It says “the trauma of the family home being destroyed and of essentially being homeless” badly affected the mental health of Brendan Walsh, the father of the family.

“Brendan died tragically on the first day of summer, May 1st, just over a week after the house fire. It was only then that the true horror of these events finally hit home,” the club said.

Mr Walsh (50) had been a carpenter, but was left without work following the economic crash. He changed careers and became a carer and was a frontline worker during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Killeagh GAA club said Mr Walsh was a talented hurler, playing for Killeagh, Midleton CBS and Cork at various levels. However, a serious knee injury curtailed his career somewhat, though he continued to play at under-21 and junior level for his county.

His son, Barry (16), has played for the Cork minor team this year and his other children – Chloe, Andrea, Pádraig and Seán – have also played for the club.

“They are open, kind, good natured and genuine ‘salt of the earth’ people,” the club said. “Their world has come crashing down around them in the cruelest way imaginable. They are living through a nightmare.

“Their trauma is made worse by the fact that they have no home in which to grieve for Brendan or to start to piece their lives back together again. The hope now is that we can all work together and, piece by piece, raise enough money to give this family back their home.”