Grennan family 'overwhelmed' as fundraising target of €100k exceeded

A massive fundraising drive to assist former Offaly footballer, Nigel Grennan, and his young family in rebuilding their home after it was completely destroyed in a devastating fire has now closed having exceeded its target of €100,000.

The GoFundMe campaign which was set up on behalf of the local community in Mount Temple, where Nigel and his wife, Lisa, built their dream home two years ago, succeeded in raising €101,396, which will now be used to help the Grennan family build a new home.

Speaking to the Offaly Independent this week, Nigel Grennan’s wife, Lisa, who is a native of Mount Temple and is a well-known singer and musician, said the family has been “inundated with offers of help” since their family home in Cam Park, Mount Temple was completely destroyed by fire on October 14 last.

Within a matter of hours, the local community had set up a GoFundMe Page which raised over €55,000 in its first day of operation, and Lisa says they continued to receive “both public and private donations” right up to the time the fundraising effort was closed after exceeding its target.

Lisa, who is a native of Mount Temple, says the family has been “overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone” and she described Mount Temple as “the best little community in the world.”

At the moment Lisa and Nigel and their two young children, 7-year old Jack and Ellie May (3) are living with Lisa’s parents, Mary and Billy Tyrrell, just doors away from their gutted home, and are in the process of applying for planning permission to build a new home on their existing site.

Lisa says their plan is to retain the same design for their new home, but instead of building a timber-frame house they will probably opt for a block build. “We have to start from scratch all over again, but we are hopeful of being able to stick with the same design as we had before, but it will all take time, and we can’t even begin to say how grateful we are for all the support we have received since the fire, it has just been incredible,” she says.

As well as expressing their thanks to the local community for their overwhelming support, Lisa Grennan also paid tribute to the emergency services who attended the scene of the fire on October 14 last.

Both she and her husband have been in touch with the family of Patrick Berry, who was seriously injured while fighting the fire at the Grennan family home alongside his colleagues from the Athlone Fire and Rescue Unit, and have offered their help and support to his partner and their three young children.

In an update on the Grennan Family Support Fund GoFundMe Page this week, the organisers of the fundraising effort said it was now closed due to the fact that it had reached its target amount of €100,000. The organisers (Mount Temple and Baylin) also thanked everyone for their “very kind donations” to the fund, and wished the Grennan family the best of luck “as they embark on the journey ahead”.