Community rallies to help family who lost everything in weekend fire

People in Ballivor were gathering in the local Byrne's Pub this evening for a fundraiser for a family who suffered a devastating fire making them homeless at the weekend.
Marcus Cogan, his partner Gemma and sons aged two and six escaped injury when the fire broke out at about 11pm at the Stoneyford estate on Saturday night.

The flames quickly took hold and it took Meath fire services several hours to quench the blaze. Today (Sunday) the house stood in a badly damaged state. At the weekend, Ballivor community centre was opened to receive donations of clothing and personal items needed for the family, who have lost all their belongings.

Elaine Doonan, who lives in another estate in Ballivor and who is related to the family the family, said that she had two small children herself and would like to think that if something like this happened to her, people would rally round. "People were very generous and they were bringing all kinds of items to the community hall."