3 October 2021, Sunday
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
“Help Colm and Fiona O’Donoghue start again”
Just 2 days ago – on Friday 1 October – Cork City Fire Brigade raced to the scene of a fire in a semi-detached house in the Broadale Estate, Maryborough Hill, Douglas, Cork.
The fire was noticed just before 2pm, and the emergency services reached the scene very quickly. Early photos on social media showed the fire affecting the upstairs only , but later conveyed the devastation elsewhere making the house uninhabitable and the family left with almost nothing. There were no serious injuries, but it was reported that the Ambulance Service gave medical assistance to one person at the scene.
Now, a friend of the family affected has created GoFundMe page. The creator Karen Flannery highlighted how a wedding has also been disputed by the blaze:
Hi my name is Karen. I’m hoping to fundraise for Colm, Fiona, Suzanne, Cormac and Brendan who tragically lost their family home and all belongings in a house fire yesterday . I’ve been a close family friend of the O’Donoghue’s for many years. They are some of the most kind-hearted, hard working people I’ve ever met. They are a well known family in the Broadale area. Their eldest daughter Suzanne is due to get married in 3 weeks. Unfortunately a lot of her wedding things were in the house and have been destroyed. Cormac is a talented dancer with a bright future studying in the UK. Brendan has just started 5th year in Coláiste Chríost Rí and is a very dedicated student and athlete.
The family are devasted and were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs yesterday. I’m posting this in the hopes to raise some funds to help get them get back on their feet. Any donations would be greatly appreciated and used to get the basics and to sort Brendan with a laptop and other supplies he needs for school. Hopefully this will help to ease some of the burden they are feeling over the loss of their home.
They are extremely grateful no one was injured in the fire as well as for all the support they received…
A the time of writing 51 donors have given €2,930 of a €5,000 goal. The page can be reached at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-colm-and-fiona-o-donoghue-start-again
Local Cllr Deirdre Forde posted a video of the aftermath on her Twitter page, noting the quick response of the emergency services.
So shocking and sad to see such damage from sudden fire in home in #Broadale #Maryboroughhill. Thankfully it seems all relatively safe including animals. Residents praising the very quick response from @CorkCityFire @gardainfo @HSEAmbulance #safety #fire #damage #burning #shock pic.twitter.com/mlShYbwUh4
— Cllr Deirdre FORDE (@deirdreforde) October 1, 2021
Above: Google Streetview showing the entrance to the Broadale Estate. Broadale was previously in the headlines in October 2015 for an unrelated fire in the shop at the entrance (pictured above)
