Planning application to rebuild Offaly man’s fire-destroyed home

The former Offaly footballer and his wife whose home in Westmeath was destroyed in a devastating fire last month have submitted a planning application to Westmeath County Council to rebuild a new home on the existing site.

Nigel, from Ballycumber, and Lisa Grennan are hoping to use the proceeds of a huge GoFundMe campaign, which was organised by the local community and raised a massive €100,000, to help with the rebuilding costs on the site in Carn Park, Mount Temple, where their original home was completed two years ago.

The planning application for a new single storey dwelling was submitted to Westmeath County Council on Monday of last week, November 15, by Athlone-based consulting engineers, Egan Mulready & Associates Ltd, on behalf of Lisa Grennan.

Speaking this week, Lisa said Egan Mulready had prepared the plans for their original house, and they have decided to go with “a similar design” for a single storey three-bedroom house on the existing site in Carn Park, Mount Temple.

While she said the family were “overwhelmed” by the continuing support of the local community since their home was completely gutted by fire on October 14 last, and are planning to use the €100k raised as part of a GoFundMe campaign to help with the rebuilding costs, she acknowledges that rebuilding their home will be a “much more costly process” than their original home.

She said building materials have “increased considerably” due to the twin impacts of Brexit and Covid, so they are expecting to face increasing challenges during the rebuilding process but they are “beyond grateful” to the local community in Mount Temple/Baylin for their “unwavering support” since the devastating fire in which they lost their dream home and all their possessions.

Lisa and her husband, Nigel, along with their two children, Jack (7) and Ellie May (3), are still living with Lisa’s parents, Mary and Billy Tyrrell, but will move into a house two doors away on December 1 for the foreseeable future.

Lisa said she has not passed her original home since the devastating fire on October 14, as the site is in the process of being assessed by their insurance company and is “still a pile of rubble.”

As the family look forward to Christmas, Lisa says they are “very grateful” that nobody was in the house when the fire broke out, and she once again paid tribute to the emergency services who attended at the scene and to the many, many people who have come to their assistance “in so many ways” over the past month.

“We couldn’t possibly thank everyone individually, but we are so, so grateful,” she added