A Dublin family whose home was severely damaged in an arson attack three months ago have moved back into their house following the help of a local builder.
Pat Curran had fallen asleep on his couch in the early hours of May 21st when his home on Landen Road in Ballyfermot was subject to a firebomb attack, in what gardaí said was a case of mistaken identity.
His wife Breda and their son Luke (20) were asleep upstairs. The family escaped the fire, but their pet dog Zach died in the blaze. Mr Curran and his wife had no house insurance.
Builder Mark O’Neill (42) from Clondalkin oversaw the complete house renovation, relying on the help of subcontractors and suppliers.
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Mr O’Neill waived all costs, with such works estimated to be in the region of between €170,000 and €200,000, aided only by a GoFundMe page that raised more than €55,000.
The house had to be rewired, along with new plumbing, new joists, plastering and insulation, roof repairs and new windows and doors.
Mr O’Neill said he was “devastated” when he heard what happened to the family and decided to take on the job after meeting them.
“I just knew I was meant to do it,” he said. “I get so much back from jobs like this. It’s a different kind of payback seeing people being able to get back into their home.
“You could not meet a nicer family. You’re asking yourself how could this happen to such a nice family? But I also believe the good always outweighs the bad and I’m blessed with my suppliers and people working with me over the years.”
Mr O’Neill has been working in construction since he was 15 and has helped others refurbish their homes following fires. He said the loss of his mother, sister and brother over recent years are part of the reason he has decided to take on such projects when he can.
The family received the keys to their home on Saturday, describing the generosity of Mr O’Neill and others as “a miracle”.
“For me, Mark stepped down from heaven,” Ms Curran said. “I’ve never met anybody like that. I walked out of here in May full of soot and said I can’t go in there any more because I wasn’t getting anywhere. I never came here until last Saturday. They just said: ‘stay away, don’t come back’.
“I couldn’t believe it. It was the goodness of Mark, family, friends, neighbours, the GoFundMe, because there was nothing out there in terms of grants. I did try, I emailed everyone but there was just nothing there.
“We were hopeless and desolate for the first week and a half after it happened. We were saying: ‘what are we going to do?’”
Ms Curran, who is a social care worker, added that it “will take a while” to get used to being in the house again.
“It’s just at night time, we’re sleeping with the windows open because it’s too warm and you might hear something on the road, a motorbike flying by,” she said.
“I’m probably a little bit on high alert but that should go. I know that’s your brain just trying to protect your body. I’ll get through it.”
Mr Curran, an artist originally from Dolphin’s Barn, added that walking back into his home again was “nothing short of miraculous”.
“That’s the way I feel about it. Basically we have the newest house on Landen Road,” he said.
“What’s shone through all of this is the goodness of people. It makes me want to be a better person going forward ... I’m still a bit up and down. In all honesty, I think counselling is down the road for all of us. It was a near-death experience for the three of us. It shattered my confidence and made me more weary of people and danger. Mark deserves all the recognition he could get.”
Two boys aged 14 and 15 and a man in his 20s have been charged in connection with the attack.
