Lisa’s thanks for ‘home the community built’
A Mount Temple mother who lost everything when her home burned to the ground three years ago was overcome with emotion when she stood up to thank her beloved local community for a huge fundraising campaign which has enabled the rebuilding of her family home.
“I had loads that I wanted to say, but I just became so emotional and I couldn't get the words out,” said Lisa Tyrrell who organised a public celebration in the local hall in Mount Temple after Mass on recently, to thank the many people who contributed to a massive GoFundMe campaign to help the stricken family in the wake of the devastating fire which destroyed their home.
The GoFundMe campaign was set up by the local community in Mount Temple within hours of the outbreak of the fire, when locals gathered in the church with Fr Joe McGrath to see what they could do to assist the young family who had lost their home and all their possessions.
"Within four days the GoFundMe had raised €100k which was just an incredible response, and without that money we would not be in our house and I can say that with certainty," says Lisa.
Having now moved into her newly-rebuilt home with her young children, Jack and Ellie-Mae, Lisa Tyrrell said it was "extremely important" to her to organise some sort of public thank you celebration in her own community to acknowledge all the help she has received over the past three years.
"The biggest thing I wanted to do was to thank everyone who helped us, including our building contractor, Thomas Stone, because without them we would not be in the house, simple as that," she says. "We don’t think we could every put into words the sense of gratitude we have for the huge outpouring of support we received from the community of Mount Temple, Ballycumber, and the whole world, because people the world over contributed to the fundraiser to help rebuild our house."
With tea, coffee and cakes laid on for the local community in Mount Temple Hall, and an ice-cream van for the children, Lisa Tyrrell said the thank you event she organised was "a deeply emotional occasion" for everyone. "Anyone who knows me would say that I am not often stuck for words, but I just couldn’t get the words out when I stood up to thank everyone, I got very upset and I was just so emotional," she recalls.
While Lisa Tyrrell and her two children are "very, very aware" of issues like homelessness, poverty, war and the many other pressing issues in the world, she says she has faced her own battles over the past three years to retain her home.
"Unfortunately, we were under-insured, and it has been an absolute battle to save our home," she says, "and without the GoFundMe money that was raised we would not be in our home today, so our house is truly a home that the community built."
Lisa, who is daughter of Mount Temple’s Mary and Billy Tyrrell, says that both she and her children know how lucky they are to be part of such an "amazing community" and that her son and daughter get to remain as pupils in the local school.
Recalling the events of Thursday, October 14, 2021, she says that while the fire which destroyed their family home in Carn Park was "horrendous" it taught her a very valuable lesson that "material possessions don’t mean a thing."
The well-known local singer adds the thoughts of losing everything in a fire "is horrendous" but points out that "items, things and stuff can come and go, but material possessions are not important, family is important and life is important."
Lisa’s house was unoccupied at the time of the fire, which was caused by an electrical fault, but Athlone-based firefighter, Patrick Berry, a father of three young children, suffered serious injuries when a gable end wall collapsed on him while members of the Athlone Fire and Rescue Service were battling the blaze in Carn Park.
Mr Berry’s Assumption Road home was completely redeveloped over a nine-day period for an RTE programme, DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland,, in which volunteers and home renovation professionals gave freely of their time.