‘It brings out the best in people’

The fire is being treated as accidental

Well over €20,000 has been raised for Mervyn Murdy whose house was destroyed in a fire last week.

Early on the morning of October 4, the Fire Service was alerted to a fire at a house in the Drumalure area of Belturbet.

The occupant, Mr Murdy, had raised the alarm and escaped by jumping from an upstairs window with his dog.

“He had to jump from the upstairs window to get out,” said neighbour Adrian Jackson. “It was quite a precarious situation but thankfully he got out. “He rescued himself effectively,” said Adrian.

Units from Belturbet and Cavan Town responded but, despite their best efforts, the house was completely destroyed. The roof collapsed due to the damage.

The fire is being treated as accidental.

Adrian is among those behind a GoFundMe page to raise money for Mervyn, in a bid to replace some of what was lost.

“He’s lost a lot of things that would be of sentimental value to him that can’t be replaced unfortunately. That’s quite sad. It might be memorabilia that he would have from his parents. So that can’t be replaced,” he remarked.

Mervyn, who’s in his 60s, is currently living in a small caravan next to what remains of his house. However, this isn’t a realistic permanent solution.

“He’s happier in that temporary arrangement than something grander. He’s not someone who has massive expectations,” says Adrian.

The fundraiser has already attracted phenomenal support, with people from across the world donating.

A target of €12,000 was laid down when the fundraiser began last week but this has been far surpassed at the time of writing.

Figures of up to €500 have been donated by people across the world. Donations from as far away as Canada have been received.

“Everyone has great respect for Mervyn because of the person he is. He’s a person you couldn’t help but like and that’s why people have been so generous. It brings out the best in people, things like this. It really does,” says Adrian.