'We have nothing' - Heartbroken family facing homelessness after devastating house fire

Lynda Guinan from Kilcormac in Offaly says her and her family's worlds have been turned upside down following a devastating fire in their home last week which tragically claimed the lives of their beloved pet bulldog's Ziggy and Zack, who Lynda described as their "pride and joy."

The fire which was was caused by an electrical fault after a plug caught fire in one of the upstairs bedrooms, spread rapidly throughout the house, forcing the family out with just the clothes on their backs.

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Now, Lynda, her husband Noel and their son Dean, are in emergency accommodation in Portarlington, provided by Offaly County Council. However, Lynda says her family have been dealt another devastating blow after receiving a call from the council on Wednesday morning informing her that they must vacate the premises next Friday, rendering them homeless.

"It just blew our minds," said Lynda, "The house was something to hold on to...at least we had a roof over our head, and come next Friday it will be gone. With the way things are, no one can get private accommodation or private rentals, there's 10 or 20 ahead of you, so we will be deemed as homeless next Friday."

Lynda explained that unfortunately she has no family nearby that she can stay with temporarily. Her only siblings, a brother and sister, live in the US, and her parents sadly died, her father in 2018 and her mother in 2019. 

Lynda recalled a lovely story about one of her dogs, Ziggy, who Lynda had gotten for her mother who passed away in 2019 from lung cancer.

"She lived to see him for two weeks and Tullamore hospital let me bring Ziggy in to her and she got to spend two weeks with him, so I say he came with angel's wings.

"We've explored every avenue and people have been so good and kind, offering us a place to stay for a night or two, and the harsh reality is that is what we will have to do...we're living out of bags at the minute.

"I'm grateful for the roof over my head, but it's not home, and we had no house insurance as well so now we have to start back from the start, and nobody can come in and help us because everybody is in hard times, everybody is waiting on there wages. It was different years ago, back in the boom, there were contractors that could go in and build it as a good will gesture and we could just pay for the materials, but that's a dream, it won't come true.

"I don't know, all we can do is keep hoping," Lynda continues, "As much as we had, we were holding on to this (emergency accommodation). I didn't want anything else, just a home, and now that rug has well and truly been pulled from under us...it's horrendous."

Lynda says Offaly County Council said they can't do anymore for them and that the emergency accommodation was given to them as a gesture of good will because their house was privately owned as opposed to a council house.

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Lynda said her and her family are on edge now as to what to do after next Friday. "We'll be back to living in the vans...that's just the way its going to be.

"That was a harsh reality this morning," continued Lynda, "I was going in with a little bit of hope...at least we have some sort of accommodation that we can call ours, and then to be told come next Friday you're homeless...they can't do anything else, so I have to prepare myself. I'm just getting so knocked down by everything and I thought I had something left.

"Our lives changed on Thursday night and it changed for the worst, and nothing good has come out of. At least we had somewhere to stay and we could take our minds of of it all but now we're faced with this.

"I don't know how we're going to deal with it...we have no clothes, we have no house, no homes, no dogs, nothing, and Offaly County Council are basically saying it's not their problem."

A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family where people can make donations to help them get back on their feet.

The message on the page reads: "Yesterday evening the 18/09/25 the unthinkable happened, something you think will never come to you or your families door.

"At approximately 6:15pm a fire broke out at the house and spread very fast, although a home is who is in it and not just a building itself, there were two very important little family members inside, Ziggy, age 5, and Zack, age 3, my daughters beloved bulldogs who unfortunately didn’t survive the rapidly spreading blaze.

"No amount of money or words could ever replace these two little bundles of absolute craziness and cuteness and there is truly a hole in all of our hearts forever but I’m starting this to help restore their faith a little bit in life and help out with missing belongings as they only walked out with the clothes on their backs and the shoes on their feet after 35 years in this home.

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"I’d like to thank you for taking the time to read this, I’d also like everyone to keep Ziggy and Zack in their prayers and to hold their fur balls a little tighter when hearing this.

"Helping one person might not change the world, but it could change the world for one person."

The page has already raised €2,364 out of a €10,000 goal. You can donate to their page by clicking HERE

Offaly County Council have been contacted for a statement regarding the situation but have not responded at time of publication.