Ten thousand euro raised for family after devastating house fire

A fundraiser set up to help a Newtowncunningham family devastated by a house fire has raised almost E10,000 in less than a week.

A father and his son ‘lost everything’ in their home at Colehill, which was completely engulfed in flames during the blaze that occurred after 1pm on Monday.

Donegal County Councillor Paul Canning, who lives in the area, set up a Go Fund Me page on Monday night to help get the Tinney family ‘back on their feet.’

He said that while the family is covered by house insurance, this can take a while to come through and they currently ‘only have the clothes on their back.’

Colr. Canning said the fire ‘took over’ in a couple of minutes and thankfully the father and son, escaped uninjured. They are currently staying with family members.

Colr. Canning praised the response and work of the emergency services on the day.

He added that the family is very well known in the area and the community has rallied around them in their time of need.

“They were all born and reared here and everyone would know them. It’s heartbreaking to see their home destroyed like that. While they have house insurance that can take months to come through and doesn’t cover the loss of their sentimental items. They need the simple stuff at the minute - things like clothes and other bits and pieces and that’s why the fundraiser was set up.”

Yesterday, Colr. Canning thanked everyone, on behalf of the Tinney family, for the ‘tremendous support’ they have given the family and said the current figure, close to 10,000 euro is ‘phenomenal.’ The target figure was 5000 euro. He confirmed the fundraiser will run until Friday, April 15. A donation bucket will also be available at Newtowncunningham Post Office at the counter only today, Friday and tomorrow, Saturday until 1pm. You can donate to the GoFund Me page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-tinney-family