A Co Derry community has raised over £70,000 to aid a family who lost everything in a house fire on Christmas morning — including precious memories of a father and brother who had both tragically died previously.
The huge level of support comes after Colette McErlean and her sons Oisin and Conleth in Maghera were woken on Christmas Day by fire alarms going off in their home, giving them just enough time to escape before the house was engulfed in flames.
An online appeal was launched after the devastating fire by Ellen Crozier, partner of Oisin, who told the Belfast Telegraph the family are “exceptionally grateful” for the support.
The family also lost two members of the family in a short space of time several years ago, and several memories of them were lost in the fire.
“Their home was full of pictures and memories of them which have now been destroyed,” said Ellen, adding that the family has been left in a state of shock.
“While we are thankful that nobody was hurt, they have all lost everything.
“The family has suffered a lot of heartbreak over the years, losing their father and brother, and their beautiful house was almost like a shrine to them with pictures covering almost every wall, which have now all been destroyed.”
In November 2009, Oisin and Conleth’s brother, Paddy (14) died after a tragic quad-bike accident along the Craigmore Road, Maghera.
In what had been a heartbreaking time for the family, his father Joe died three years ago and his uncle earlier in 2009.
“Unfortunately, Oisin and Conleth’s mother Colette has been suffering ill health the past number of years and now requires 24/7 care,” Ellen added.
An appeal has been launch to help the McErlean family after a house fire destroyed their Maghera home on Christmas Day. Photo: gofundme
“As the family begin the difficult process of rebuilding their lives, they desperately need support. The financial burden of replacing belongings, securing long-term housing and starting from scratch is overwhelming.”
Ellen said she started the appeal to try to help the family recover from the latest tragedy — and added she has been overwhelmed by the support shown by the community.
Since being launched two days ago, the fundraiser has raised a total of £71,089 from more than 1,200 separate donations to the cause.
“Everyone was in bed on Christmas morning when they were awoken by fire alarms going off and they quickly managed to get outside of the house before it completely went up in flames,” she said, describing how the family discovered the fire on Christmas Day.
“The appeal has given them a small glimmer of hope.
“They don’t even have mobile phones or any identification and will need to rely on the help and support of others in order to get through the next few weeks and months as they try to rebuild their lives.
“We are just thankful that the local community and people from across Northern Ireland have rallied around them and the kindness people have shown in donating so much to them has given them some hope for the future.
“I would just like to thank everyone who has donated to the appeal so far, it really means the world to the family who have another tough road ahead of them.”
Among the community groups pulling together for the family is the local GAA Club at Watty Grahams and Ireland’s highest pub at the Ponderosa on the Glenshane Road, who have both shown support online for the campaign.